To Pique an Interest
by rhodesXmorrisonXorton
Summary: **CURRENTLY ON HIATUS** An everyday fan catches the eye of a certain Rated-R Superstar, and what could've been the night of her life turned out to be something else...
1. Eye Contact

**To Pique An Interest**

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><p><strong>Introduction &amp; Chapter 1: Eye Contact<strong>

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><p><strong>Brief Summary:<strong> _The Rated-R Superstar summons a fan by ringside to his private bus and offers her what could have been the night of her life…_

**Author's Note:** _**This idea suddenly came to my head when I reading a bunch of one-shots involving various wrestlers inviting female fans to their private buses/locker rooms and so I decided to take a spin of my own, this time featuring the Rated-R Superstar and now (sadly) retired Edge. The reason why I chose Edge instead of someone common like John Cena or Randy Orton is because I thought it would've suited his Rated R-ness :) Also, this story is told in first person point of view through the OC's eyes, though there will occasionally be chapters where the story is told through Edge's point of view.**_

**Disclaimer:** _Unfortunately I do not own any name or brand that is recognizable in this story; however I will go on to say that I own the rights to all the OCs in this story, including the main character, Lilly Hazel._

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><p><span>April 26<span>th, 2009: Backlash

Finally…I'd waited for this moment for all of my life. I was finally going to see the WWE live in action, particularly at one of their pay-per-views, which had come to the city of Providence, Rhode Island, where I was in the process of receiving my Bachelor's Degrees in both Photography and Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. I'd just turned 26 the day before and so my friends decided to treat me by bringing me to a WWE pay-per-view that had stopped by in Rhode Island, my excitement level reaching to the maximum when they revealed a few days ago that they'd gotten us ringside seats right next to the announcer's table and by the corner of a ring where the majority of wrestlers stood on the turnbuckle and posed for the screaming fans in attendance.

I was extremely well prepared for that night, decking out in full WWE gear and spending the past two days decorating signboards that supported my favorite wrestlers and mocked the ones that I disliked. Out of all the wrestlers that I admired, Randy Orton, Christian, and Triple H to name a few, the one Superstar I particularly favored out of them was none other than The Rated-R Superstar himself, Edge.

I'd been a lifelong fan of the WWE, since the early days when it was still the World Wrestling Federation, until the World Wildlife Fund had to sue them and all just because of a simple shared acronym. I recalled my childhood days when I watched guys like Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan wrestle each other in the ring with my dad and a bowl of popcorn on our worn, leather couch back in my hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Unlike kids my age that watched the Blue Jays hit home runs at the nearby ballpark, whenever I returned home from school, I'd be watching replays of the several Wrestlemania cassettes we'd purchase from the video store, and every month whenever a pay-per-view came on, my dad, my brother, and I would huddle in the TV room and watch Bret Hart, our childhood hero, in action.

Then came the year 1998, when I was fifteen and in the midst of being driven boy crazy by my dreaded puberty hormones, and I returned home from high school, having just flunked my history test, when I flipped on the television in my room (given to me as a fifteenth birthday present, but it was our old one sine we replaced it with a new one of the latest design) and waited for _Raw is War_ to show.

That was when I finally abandoned my childhood wrestling heroes for the man that debuted that night, on June 22nd on _Raw is War_—Edge.

I recalled that night I first saw him, and with my exploding teenage boy-crazy hormones, I instantly fell for Adam Copeland—his long mane of wavy blonde hair and piercing green eyes immediately captured my attention. Every history class I dreamed about him, and in every art class I drew sketches of him. My friends thought I was crazy, but hell yeah; I was crazy for Edge.

Every day when I returned home from school, I'd make a headfirst to my bedroom, where I'd lock myself in there and anxiously wait for my newest crush to appear on my television screen. I still have the taping of his very first pay-per-view match at Summerslam, where he teamed up with Sable against Marc Mero and Jacqueline.

Since falling for Edge, I'd purchased every single pay-per-view where he was involved in. I'd watch _Raw _and/or _Smackdown_ just to watch him in action. I have posters of him displayed on the walls of my bedroom back home in Toronto, remembering to bring my favorite one of him—the one of him holding his World Heavyweight Championship belt on his shoulder and signaling with his fingers to come to him—to college with me, where I would hang it next to my bed in my dorm room. Every morning when I woke up, his face was the first thing I'd see, and every night before I slept, he was the last thing I wished goodnight.

When I was fifteen, he became my very first wrestler crush. For my eighteenth birthday, my dad gave me an entire package of Edge merchandise, and I still keep all my merchandise in the apartment I'd purchased in Toronto a month ago. When I was twenty-two I shut my eyes in agony as he and his then-girlfriend, Lita, engaged in a 'live sex celebration' in the middle of the ring on that dreaded episode of RAW.

And tonight, when I'm 26 years old, I'll be watching him live for the very first time in my life.

When I found out my wrestler crush since high school was main eventing _Backlash_ right here in Providence, Rhode Island, I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off of my face, knowing that for the very first time I was watching a live WWE show, not only would I get to see Edge in person, but to make my first time experience even more exciting, I, along with the rest of my buddies, had the front row right next to where Michael Cole, Jerry 'The King' Lawler, and good ol' JR did their commentary and where ring announcer Lillian Garcia sat after introducing the competitors of the match. I absolutely couldn't believe how close we were actually going to be to some of the most famous professional wrestling personalities in the biggest promotion in the world.

The week before _Backlash_ I ensured I had the majority of my assignments done in order to clear up the day itself, so I could meet up with my friends and get ready for the event and all, since Kayla told me over the phone about three days ago that we'd be heading for the bar after the show along with our gang. Throughout the week I even began making signs supporting him along with my favorite wrestlers, and since I was an artist, I even helped my other friends make signs too.

For example, Kayla, who's literally in love with John Cena—I honestly couldn't see what was so interesting about that man; he's not even good looking and he just can't wrestle period—wanted me to create a sign for her that read, "JOHN CENA'S SHIRTS LOOK BETTER ON ME", these 'shirts' she was talking about being the multiple shirts in various colors Cena has worn over the years; his fashion sense is like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles (**Author**: The Rock vs John Cena reference over here…_teehee_).

As for myself, aside from signs supporting my favorite wrestlers and dissing the ones I didn't like (The Miz and Michael Cole, in particular), I created two signs—one on each side of a giant poster board, of course—specially for my number one and longtime wrestler crush, Edge. The first one was a short little slogan that expressed how much I _lurved_ him:

"I WANT EDGE TO POSE FOR FIVE SECONDS FOR ME."

And the second one…well…that was actually Laurel's idea, who was one of my best friends and loved to tease me about my crush on Edge:

"DEAR EDGE, MY 26TH BIRTHDAY WAS YESTERDAY. CAN I HAVE A KISS PLEASE?"

Even if Edge did see my sign, though, I strongly doubted he'd do anything about it, though, as I was nothing more than a lovesick fan, a crazy, lovesick fan that had been obsessed with that same guy for eleven years of her life.

Obviously, and sadly, I had no significance to him whatsoever. Though I fantasized about Adam Copeland, at the same time I knew the only way I'd get close to talking to him would be at an autograph signing, and unfortunately today, he wasn't scheduled for any meet & greet sessions with the fans this time around.

However, I did spend the entire day before the event getting pampered and primed, starting with a mani & pedi after lunch with Kayla and Laurel, and then returning home to get my hair done by Laurel, a beauty stylist in training. Half an hour before the guys arrived to pick us up, with my auburn red waves clipped in a sweet side ponytail, I slipped on my Edge shirt that I'd recently purchased from the online shop and my studded acid-washed gray skinny jeans, plus my black leather ankle boots from Hot Topic. Laurel helped me with my make-up as well, giving my hazel green eyes a slightly smoky shade of blue and dark green for a 'pop'. She assured me this was "to grab your Rated-R dream hunk's attention when he comes over to our section", though I wasn't too much of a fan of make-up.

"Laurel, the guy is in his late 30's," I protested, when Laurel demanded that I wear a black mini dress she'd gotten me for my birthday yesterday, "and besides, I'm dressed up for a WWE pay-per-view, not a night of clubbing and partying."

"Who cares, Lilly? Tonight is your night, you've got to actually dress like the hot, sexy woman you are," argued Laurel, narrowing her eyes disapprovingly at my slightly too big Edge shirt, studded acid-washed gray jeans, and black studded ankle boots. In case anyone would like to question my fashion sense, I give all credibility to my love for heavy metal bands—Metallica, Disturbed, and Slipknot to name a few. I loved anything leather over anything cashmere, I liked studded black jackets over soft, knitted cardigans, and I preferred chains, studs, and anything black or red over pastels and anything designer couture. And it quite helped that Adam and I both had the same musical tastes as well.

"Laurel, we've gone over this," I sighed. Unlike the heavy metal rocker like I am, Laurel loved everything and anything that was trendy and advertised in fashion magazines such as _Seventeen_ and _Allure_. She could potentially be an Anna Wintour, whoever that was, if she were a little older and more crabby. Sometimes I found myself annoyed at Laurel's disapproval of my fashion and musical tastes, as much as I loved her.

"Okay, I have a way we can negotiate this; no way are you walking into a club dressed like you came from Six Flags," said Laurel, "how about once the show's done, I'll get Brian to put up the shades in his van and you can change out of those clothes and into this cute little dress…"

"As long as I get to wear my favorite leather jacket," I interrupted her, "and my black studded ankle boots."

I silently thought the black and silver mini dress Laurel got for me was actually pretty cute, but I really wasn't a dress kind of person. Laurel, however, refused to listen to me when I told her that.

"Lilly, it's either this cute little thing or that strapless cut-out leopard print mini I made you try on at the store, which by the way, I also bought along with the black one," threatened Laurel.

It didn't take long before I quickly chose the black one.

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><p>I felt my nerves jumping in excitement as I squirmed in my seat, waiting for the show to get back to commercial break. So far, the preliminary shows had passed, my favorites among them being Christian's ECW Championship match against Jack Swagger, whom, to my happiness, he successfully defeated to capture his first gold since returning back to the WWE early this year. I smiled as I remembered screaming in my beanbag when I came home from a class, to find one of my all-time favorite wrestlers making a spectacular return after four years in TNA on the ECW brand.<p>

The other match that captured my attention was the 'I Quit' Match between the Hardy brothers, Matt and Jeff. I had to admit that this storyline was a sharp contrast from the old days of the Hardy Boyz, when the two brothers were one of the most successful tag teams in the history of tag team wrestling. I was pleased to see that Jeff won; I personally preferred his daring, high-flying extreme maneuvers over the more technical and traditional Matt.

The 'Divas' match, or should I say, Santino in drag versus Beth Phoenix for the 'Miss Wrestlemania' title was an absolute joke. Beth is currently my favorite Diva along with Natalya, and I found Santino to be hilarious, but I personally thought his gimmick of 'Santina' was just completely ridiculous. Should've been out of the card, if you'd ask me.

The first main event match had also finished for the night, with Randy Orton and his Legacy partners defeating Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon (I met him once and he turned out to be a complete ass to anyone whose look didn't scream skank), and Orton won the WWE Championship from Trips. Though I was disappointed Hunter lost his title, I was happy Orton and the Legacy won the match. About halfway through the match when Cody Rhodes fell onto the ground outside the ring, I was the only one who screamed for him and cheered him on, and I swore Ted DiBiase's eye darted towards where our section was. I shook it off and continued to watch Batista and Trips double-teaming on poor little Cody while trying to ignore Brian and Connor's chants of 'BATISTA! BATISTA! BATISTA!'

When Randy stood on the turnbuckle nearest to our corner with his newly-won title sparkling gallantly underneath the spotlights, amidst the boos I heard Laurel squealing, "Raaaaanddyyyyyyy!" and this resulted in Randy actually glancing down at the two of us and giving us a small smirk, trying hard not to break out of his Viper character. I slapped Laurel on the back as she battered her eyelashes at him, reminding him that he was already taken, in particular, _married and with a child_.

Hell, I thought Randy was freaking hot, with the badass tattoos and all, but not only was I aware that he was already married and had a kid (who by the way, is absolutely adorable), but my heart was saved for the man fighting John Cena in the final match of the event—the Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

"This is the Last Man Standing match, and it is for the World Heavyweight Championship!" said ring announcer Lillian Garcia, "now in this match, there are no pinfalls, disqualifications, submissions, or countouts. The only way to win is to incapacitate your opponent where he cannot answer the referee's count of ten."

_You think you know me…_

The light bulb in my head just suddenly clicked in my head, when the thrashing heavy metal guitars of that familiar entrance theme began booming through the speakers, and I instantly jumped out of my seat and screaming my lungs out like a headless chicken, waving my sign frantically when images of the veteran wrestler I followed for eleven years flashed on the giant Titantron screen. Ignoring the boos from a majority of the people, or should I say little kids, I couldn't help but amplify my screams even louder when that man himself, his beautiful blonde hair long till it reached his collarbone drenched, walked onto the stage, a menacing glare on his face. He wore his signature trench coat on top of his red, black, and white ring attire, and he certainly wore the tights well. He performed his signature pose as his fireworks erupted, as part of his entrance.

"Introducing the challenger, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, weighing in at 241 pounds, he is the Rated-R Superstar…_EDGE_!"

Though his expression was filled with rage, I couldn't help but melt at the sight of my huge wrestler crush walking down the ramp towards the ring, sprinting the last bit of it and sliding swiftly underneath the bottom rope. He gets up and walks towards the turnbuckle opposite our corner, much to my disappointment, and does his signature head banging and 'rock star' hand sign for the crowd. Since Edge's character was a heel feuding with a very popular face (and also very overrated) John Cena, more than half of the arena was booing him. I, on the other hand, loved him, face or heel. It didn't matter because I still admired him even when he portrayed the cynical villain he was supposed to be at the moment.

Edge jumps off of the opposite turnbuckle and begins walking over to our side of the ring and leans onto the ropes, glancing around us, and that's when it happens.

His eyes dart over to where I was literally jumping up and down excitedly, waving the side of my Edge sign that read "I WANT EDGE TO POSE FOR FIVE SECONDS FOR ME", and at that very moment, our eyes meet. I notice he's reading my sign momentarily and then smirks at me, nodding slightly to show approval of my slogan.

"Lilly! Dude! Edge just looked over at us!" yelled Brian, his voice barely audible as it was mostly drowned out by Edge's fast paced, hardcore entrance theme, sung by Alter Bridge, one of my favorite bands as well.

"What do you mean _us_?" argued Torrey, another one of my guy friends who had come with us, "He was looking at Lil's sign!"

"More like looking at our girl Lilly over here!" Kayla shot in.

I swore, at that very moment, my heart almost burst out from my chest. Edge, the Rated-R Superstar, just made eye contact with _me_. But reminding myself it probably wouldn't happen again, I reluctantly shook it off.

"Please!" I protested, "it's probably part of his cocky, arrogant gimmick!"

"Well you know what, Lil, this isn't the first time a WWE Superstar has glanced over at our section and smirked at us," Connor pointed out, "remember when Laurel squealed for Randy and then he looked over at the two of you?"

"We should definitely go to a house show where Randy's taking part in," sighed Laurel dreamily, "then I can do that again and he can come flash us that sexy smirk again, Lilly!"

After the 30-second silence followed where Edge was getting pumped for his match, his opponent's hip hop music cuts the silence in the arena, and I heard every single little kid around me screeching for their hero and the defending World Heavyweight Champion, Super Cena…I mean _John _Cena.

Everyone in our group remains seated and boos Edge's opponent as loudly as we can, well except for Kayla of course, who went absolutely nuts when Super Cena himself walked out onto the stage with the World Heavyweight Championship—which I knew was going to end up on Edge's waist by the end of tonight—buckled around his waist. He saluted the cheering crowd, mostly comprised of housewives and their kids, while we joined the other half of the arena—the guys who've watched wrestling for years and way before Super Cena had to ruin the company—in booing and hissing Edge's opponent.

I nearly get a heart attack when I hear a shrieking Kayla professing her love for Cena out loud when he starts taking off his shirt—his muscles are nowhere near as nice and natural as Edge's—and he looks around to see where he throws his shirt. His eyes dart towards our corner and smiles at Kayla, who gets even more excited and that makes Connor's teeth grit in jealousy, intending to throw his shirt at her, but he tosses it too far and some random little kid in the back grabs it.

"Awwww…" sighed Kayla disappointingly, "he was going to throw it at me!"

"We don't care," the rest of us said in unison.

"You guys are so mean!" exclaimed Kayla, "I love John Cena!"

"Well, the rest of us don't give a damn, Kay," snapped Connor, "the guy can't wrestle for shit."

"Well who cares? I think he's hot and dreamy," sighed Kayla.

"I think he looks like a monkey," argued Connor, and he and Kayla begin to bicker over Cena. Brian, Torrey, Laurel, and I can't help but burst into peals of laughter as we watched Connor and Kayla argue like children. Somehow I couldn't help but wonder if the two of them secretly had feelings for each other.

I laughed and turned back to watch Edge being chased around the ring by Cena and slipping back into ring, backing away from his opponent to represent his cowardly heel character. Throughout the whole match, I ignored the little kids around us and cheered for my teenage dream guy, screaming for him and waving my sign frantically whenever he looked our way.

And speaking of looking our way, this incident so happened to occur several times throughout the 28-minute match, for example, at this one instance where Edge was cornering an injured Cena, who was crouched down on the barricade right in front of us. I knew he was actually coming for his opponent, not purposely walking over to where we were, but when Edge picked Cena up by the head and the little kids around us staring yelling, "YOU SUCK, EDGE!" he looked up at where I was holding his sign, tilting his head towards me, and yelled back at them, "SHUT UP! THIS ONE HERE'S GOT TASTE!"

Our jaws all dropped when we realized that Edge was indirectly addressing _me_.

Adam Copeland? THE Adam Copeland, addressing _me_? How was that possible? He could've been referring to Brian or Connor.

"No way, Lil, he was so talking about you!" said Laurel, "look! He's charging this way towards Cena!"

I snapped back to reality when Edge, eyes wide, bloodshot and his faced screwed with fury, came charging towards our corner, where Cena was lying on the floor in front of us, and at the very last second, Cena got up and tossed Edge over his head and over the barricade…

… into the empty aisle right next to my seat.

I screamed in fright and jumped out of my seat and backed nearly ten feet as Edge's 6'5'' body nearly came flying and crashing onto me, the crowd gasping and cheering excitedly when they witnessed the Rated R Superstar crash and burn right before their very eyes, just a few feet away from where they stood in their seats. While the little kids around us (and Kayla) cheered happily for Cena, the rest of us went 'ooooohhhh!'.

I, on the other hand, honestly didn't know what the hell I was doing, and peered over the blond wrestler lying crumpled on the ground next to me, who was entirely doused with sweat from head to toe, frantically asking him, "Are you okay?"

Then came Freaky Moment #3, when a panting Edge sat up from the ground and placed his hand right where my lap was, using my thigh as his support to get up from the ground. I felt my heart once again leap up to where to my throat was and instantly felt short of breath, when the man himself stood up and smiled at me softly, running his free hand through his long blond hair. It wasn't that Edge smirk he put on as his character.

That literally left Kayla and Laurel squealing at me excitedly while Brian, Torrey, and Connor _ooohed_ and whistled at me.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" squealed Kayla, "Edge just touched you! He actually touched you!"

"Damn, Hazel, you're getting lucky tonight," teased Torrey.

"Looks like you've gotten a certain Rated R Superstar's attentions, Lilly Hazel," commented Connor.

"Remind me to sit on the aisle seat the next time a house show comes by," exclaimed Laurel, "then when Randy gets tossed over the barricade, he can use me as support to get up from the ground and then smile at me like that!"

"In your dreams, Walton," scoffed Brian, "you're just not as cute as our girl Lilly."

"Shut up, guys," I sighed, having difficulty trying to ignore a few female fans around me, who were all snarling at me enviously.

After an exciting match-up where Edge finally won the match after successfully incapacitating Cena to the point where he couldn't answer the ten count, I cheered and screamed for him when he stood up on the turnbuckle, boasting his newly-won World Heavyweight Championship from former titleholder Cena, not giving a damn about the disappointed little kids (and Kayla) around me, sighing and expressing their disappointment in Cena's loss. All I cared was that for my very first live WWE show, I got to watch my favorite wrestler, Edge, win the World Heavyweight Championship.

He strutted over to our side of the ring and leaned against the ropes, showing off his gleaming gold to the mostly pro-Cena audience. At this point, I noticed something rather peculiar: he was once again observing our corner of ringside (I still couldn't quite tell if he was looking at me or the person behind me), and I could feel his piercing green eyes burning throughout my entire body. He smirked at me and gave me a wink after his eyes traveled along the message on my signboard: "DEAR EDGE, MY 26TH BIRTHDAY WAS YESTERDAY. CAN I HAVE A KISS PLEASE?"

These moments couldn't have been part of the script. Had they been part of his character, he wouldn't have even glanced over at me more than once. It couldn't be possible if he really was checking me out. I knew from various verified sources that he was dating some woman named Charissa, so why would he be interested in some nobody fan like me?

"C'mon Lil! We're going to the club! Go get changed!" yelled Laurel, as we slowly made our way to escape the packed crowd and headed towards Brian's van.

"And boys, no peeking!" she added, narrowing her eyes at Torrey and Brian, both guys who used to have a crush on me. Brian shrugged and I couldn't help but burst out laughing when Torrey tried to hide his disappointment.

The guys waited outside the van while Laurel, Kayla, and I got changed quickly. It was a good thing Brian's van was spacious enough for us to change in. Before shutting the doors, Brian blocked out the windows so no one would peek in.

"Time to get dolled up, Lilly!" shrilled Laurel excitedly, whipping out the dress from her purse in just seconds, making me groan dreadfully.

"Oh c'mon, Lilly! It's not so bad getting dressy once in a while!" assured Kayla, as I reluctantly shucked my shirt. She and Laurel whistled and I raised a questionable eyebrow.

"Nice choice in lingerie, Lilly Hazel," growled Laurel teasingly.

"Oh shut up," I sneered.

"Still, whoever picks you up tonight will get a great view of those," teased Kayla. I hadn't had a boyfriend due to my lack of interest in guys in real life, as in any guy who wasn't 6'5'', blond with long hair, muscled, spearing 300 plus pound guys every single week to make a living, oh, and whose name was not Adam "Edge" Copeland.

"Do you guys seriously think I'm some hooker or something?" I snapped, "Just hand me the damn dress, Laurel."


	2. Starstruck

****To Pique An Interest****

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Starstruck…but not for long…<strong>

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><p><strong>*Author's Note: Second chapter continuing from the first, when Lilly and her friends just finish watching Backlash and are heading to a club to go partying and celebrating…*<strong>

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><p><span>April 26<span>th, 2009: After _Backlash_

"C'mon!" hissed Laurel, as I persistently refused to exit the van to enter the glowing neon doors of the nightclub, tugging my arm roughly, "Lilly, you look fine!"

"No I don't!" I protested, "I look like a two dollar hooker!"

"Well you're a hot two dollar hooker!" argued Laurel silently, "now get out of the effing van; the others are already waiting in line to get in!"

Grunting, I stepped out of the van, my bare knees buckled together and my body squirming in agony, as the black material of the dress hugged my small frame tightly. I frantically kept the front of my black military style leather jacket closed, as I was clearly embarrassed at the amount of skin I was showing. The dress was cut out at the sides, an 'X' connecting the low-cut top with the figure-hugging skirt. The only reason why I chose to wear that dress was not only because it was black, but there were studs on the straps and small silver beads on the collar as well.

"Damn, mama, you look good," teased Laurel, "I bet we don't even have to wait in line to get in anyway."

Shockingly, she was certainly right about that. When Laurel and I approached the entrance, one of the bouncers stopped us just as we were about to get in line and said we could go in right away. I blushed furiously as Laurel nudged me cheekily, nodding towards all three of the bouncers that were checking me out as I entered the doors of the club and disappeared into the glowing neon lights of the club.

"See, Lilly? Look who's the hot hooker?" teased Laurel.

"Shut up," I sighed, looking around for the boys and Kayla. It didn't take long before I spotted Brian and Torrey chatting up a couple of blondes by the bar. Connor and Kayla, however, were unseen among the sea of dancing partiers.

"Why don't I interrupt those two potheads so I can let them know we're here," suggested Laurel, "c'mon Lil, let's go help Brian and Torrey impress their dates."

I burst out laughing as I watched Brian making a complete fool out of himself and the blonde caressing him all over, sweet-talking the beautiful little fool as she burst into dimwitted giggles.

"Ohhh yeah baby," growled Brian, as she began unbuttoning his shirt, "that's how I like it…"

"Why don't you two go get a fucking room, Brian," said Torrey, trying to push off an overly touchy blonde attempting to slip her slinky hands down his pants.

"Yeah Brian, why don't you and your little girlfriend find somewhere else to go fuck each other," said Laurel rather loudly, shoving herself in between Brian and the girl.

The girl jumped away from Brian and shot Laurel a glare as I struggled to restrain myself from bursting out in laughter. She summoned her friends and with the flick of her platinum blonde hair in Brian's face, the three Plastics strutted away from Brian and Torrey, their high heels clicking on the marble floor.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Wilson," snapped Brian, looking disappointed, "I was just about to get that chick's number."

"Please," snorted Laurel, "she's one of those dumbass skanks who'll ask how high when you tell her to jump."

"Lilly Hazel, you are one hot mama," whistled Torrey, eyeing me up and down.

"I'm not exactly comfortable with my guy friends calling me hot, Torrey," I said, taking the seat that he willingly gave up for me.

"Told you Richards still has a thing for you, Lilly," said Brian, "he never gives up his seat to other women aside from you."

"I got over Lilly two years ago, McHale," said Torrey, "after she told me she wasn't interested in anyone."

"How does that explain you sending her your nude study sketches anonymously last month?" shot Brian. I dropped my jaw in shock and slapped Torrey in the back of his head.

"God, Torrey, you perv!" I exclaimed.

"Well it doesn't hurt to show your friends how awesome you are at nude sketches," protested Torrey.

"Like you would know what Lilly looks like naked," snorted Laurel.

"Enough with the nudity talk, people," I groaned. I turned to Torrey and said in a sweet yet sarcastic tone, "Torrey, sweetie, why don't you and Brian go over there and find some lonely girls aimlessly wandering around on the dance floor while Laurel and I go get a drink? Or perhaps you could help us find Connor and Kayla and make sure they're not clawing each other's eyes out."

"I…er…yes…my lady…" croaked Torrey nervously, dragging Brian over to the dance floor, frantically in search of some company.

Laurel and I turned to each other and burst out laughing hysterically. She hopped up onto the barstool and chuckled, "He so hasn't gotten over you yet, Lilly."

"Oh please," I giggled, "Torrey's my friend."

"But from the way his voice cracked when you pretended to sweet talk him, you can definitely tell he still has a thing for you," remarked Laurel, "and don't say I'm wrong, babe. You know I'm always right."

"Depends on what you think is right," I replied, glancing over and gasping when I saw Brian and Torrey gaping at Connor and Kayla, who were both furiously grinding against each other on the dance floor and in the midst of a passionate make-out session.

"Whoa," I gasped. I could hardly believe the sight of Connor and Kayla, the two people of our group who were complete polar opposites, going at each other right in the middle of a club.

"Well there is such thing as a love-hate relationship, Lil," said Laurel bluntly, moving her eyes away from the unlikely couple.

"Hello ladies," greeted the bartender, a young fellow about the same age as me with shaggy dirty blond hair, "may I take any drink orders?"

"I'll get a Watermelon Martini," said Laurel.

"Shirley Temple, please," I said, placing my order. The bartender raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Oooh, you're being good tonight, aren't you, babe?" he said flirtatiously.

"I'm taking a night off," I replied, shutting down his flirtatious attempt.

"Well if you change your mind, Scarlet, you can always call me up and I can fix you a Sex on the Beach," he slurred, winking at me before going off to fix our drinks.

"What is with guys and sexual innuendos?" I turned to Laurel and asked irritably, "I mean guys like him should really get their mind out of the gutter."

"Lots of men are like that, Lil," said Laurel, "you're just too innocent to realize that."

"I'm not a damn innocent little girl, Laurel," I snapped, "do I look innocent to you at all?"

"Nope, you're a hottie," remarked Laurel, "think of how many guys have sucked up to you so far tonight—those two bouncers, a bunch of people around us, Torrey, the bartender, and those guys sitting in the VIP section…"

I glanced over quickly at where a section of the club was blocked off by velvet red chains of rope, blocking off access of that exclusive area to the rest of the general public. I suddenly realized who I was glancing over at chilling by the VIP section and took a second glance, exclaiming, "Wait, what?"

"I said those guys sitting by…" Laurel was suddenly cut off when she peered over my shoulder and exclaimed, "Oh my God, Lilly! The WWE Superstars are here! Right in this fucking club! They're fucking here! EEEEEEEEKK! IT'S RANDY!"

I turned my head back towards where Laurel was ogling her eyes towards the VIP section, where indeed I spotted several famous names of the WWE such as Super Cena, Christian, Randy Orton—much to Laurel's delight—and…

…_him_.

I couldn't believe what a big coincidence this was. I had just come from a pay-per-view where I was sitting in the front row, and that man right there had been the center of my attentions throughout the entire night.

And now he was sitting in the VIP section of the exact same club my friends and I were hanging out in right after the show.

"Lilly! Your hunky wrestler boyfriend's right there…OHMYGOD! HE'S LOOKING RIGHT AT US!"

Laurel's girlish screams cut my thoughts off and I was sent crashing back down to reality. "LILLY, LILLY! LOOK, LOOK, LOOK! YOUR LEFT!"

"This is some practical joke, right?" I asked Laurel sarcastically.

"LOOK TO YOUR FUCKING LEFT, BITCH!" she yelled at me for what was the third time.

Just to shut an extremely hyperactive Laurel up, I turned to look at my left and instantly wanted to shoot myself upon realizing she was right. Sure enough, he was sitting right there in those plush lounge chairs with a beer in his hand. He had changed out of his ring attire and was now wearing a faded dark gray leather jacket over what looked like his shirt from the online WWE shop, and a relaxed fit dark blue jeans. His hair wasn't wet like it had been earlier during his match, now it was long and blonde like it naturally was, which I assumed he'd blow-dried after taking a shower.

As we were no longer inside an arena and he was now out of character, I silently referred to him as Adam, his real name. Adam was sitting by the VIP lounge, chatting with his fellow WWE Superstar buddies, having a laugh and engaging in a conversation.

Suddenly, he snapped his head towards me and my heart did a somersault when he smirked at me and wiggled his eyebrows, as though he were silently saying to me, "Yes, I'm looking at _you_, hot stuff."

_Perhaps I'm just one of those girls he's checking out in clubs that he regularly visits_, I silently thought, reminding myself not to get too excited that Adam was staring at me. But little did I realize that after a minute or two, he still hadn't taken his eyes off of mine. My whole body was getting weak from his hypnotizing stare, his piercing green eyes locked onto my own hazel green ones.

I had to refrain my jaw from dropping when I noticed him beckoning me over with a crook of his fingers, his cocky smirk changing to a genuine smile that just about made me melt. I felt the blush in my cheeks creep higher up my face and the room felt rather hot all of a sudden. I wanted to go to him, but I couldn't.

"EEEEEEEKKK! HE'S TELLING YOU TO GO TO HIM!" squealed Laurel, "Go, Lilly, go! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the man of your dreams!"

"I can't, Laurel," I protested, "he's in the damn VIP section and I'm not authorized to be there!"

"Well maybe he could at least tell the security guys that and then you'll have free access to the VIP lounge _and_ him!"

"But he could be referring to some other girl standing behind me!" I hissed, frantically glancing over my shoulder to make sure he was staring at them and not at little old me.

"Then how come he's looking at you and talking to his friends at the same time?" asked Laurel.

"He's looking past me, you idiot!" I protested. No way would I believe Adam Copeland was looking at _me_. I may have fantasized about him since I was fifteen, but I'm realistic enough to know that I'm not even close to being pretty and that you're only the center of attention for a celebrity for just fifteen seconds. I knew he was checking out some other girl behind us, or even Laurel; all the boys want her and she was a finalist in the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant when she was in high school. Besides, even if he were looking at me, what interest would he have in me? I was just some random female fan to him, and I'm quite sure wrestlers like to check out female fans once in a while.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lilly, I suggest you start thinking," remarked Laurel, "think about it. I had a boyfriend who used to take me to WWE house shows and never in my life have I seen any wrestler glancing over at the same section more than once or twice. Believe me, Lilly, he's checking _you_ out."

"Here you are ladies, your drinks," said the bartender, interrupting our conversation, placing our drinks on the counter, "Watermelon Martini," he announces, placing the martini glass in front of Laurel, "and a Shirley Temple, non-alcoholic, for you, Scarlet."

Laurel and I thanked the young bartender, who was just about to name our total cost until a server rushed up to him with a highball glass of what looked like an orangey-red concoction on a tray, whispering something to him quickly.

"Ah yes, Scarlet, I also forgot _this_," added the bartender, placing the glass next to my Shirley Temple. I eyed the drink curiously, knowing that I hadn't ordered anything else besides my Shirley Temple.

"What's that?" I asked, unfamiliar with most cocktail drinks.

"A Sex on the Beach, babe," replied the bartender, grinning at me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes sarcastically—hey, he was the one who made a sexual innuendo about it earlier!

"No, no, babe," he protested, "it's not from me, I promise!"

"Then how did this drink so magically happen to show up right in front of me?" I asked suspiciously.

"That _wrestler_ guy over by the VIP section ordered this for you," answered the bartender truthfully. As he admitted this I turned to look back at where Adam was sitting in the VIP section, and much to my shock, he was eyeing me. When my eyes met his, he gave me a cheeky wink, causing my insides to flip again, "and he said to put that, along with you and your friend's drinks, on his bill. Lucky girl, Scarlet."

I was completely speechless at all these things I was seeing and hearing. Aside from Adam staring at me from where he and his friends were isolated from the general public, not only had he bought an extra drink for me, but he also put my drink and Laurel's martini on his bill. I was lost for thought and I still couldn't believe my luck. I couldn't believe this was actually happening to me tonight.

I watched Adam say something to his friends and then get up from his seat, exiting the VIP section and subtly making his way into the general public section, disappearing through the sea of partying people and then pushing his way out of the crowd. He brushed his hair away from his face and smiled.

Throughout the entire time he did these things, he hadn't taken his eyes off of me, and I was starting to feel rather hot.

"Oh my God, Lilly! He's actually coming this way!" squealed Laurel excitedly and was almost about to fall off of her seat.

"He's probably coming to talk to you, Laurel," I said to her, knowing guys like Adam would most likely go for the better-looking out of the two of us.

"Oh stop criticizing yourself, Lilly! You should at least acknowledge your redheaded beauty instead of constantly putting down your looks," advised Laurel, "besides, you're actually quite pretty."

"I certainly agree with your friend over there, babe."

I gasped when I recognized that voice from behind me. I felt my chest sprinting wildly in a rush and my breaths getting quicker and slightly heavier. I tried not to let out my inner fan girl and scream like a headless chicken, something that obviously would not have been very appropriate for a 26 year old. _He was right behind me_.

I dared myself to look behind and there he was, his hands tucked casually into the pockets of his jeans and his leather jacket opened to reveal the t-shirt underneath it. He was much taller than I thought he'd be, since I had to crane my neck up to take a good look at him, even when sitting down on a high bar stool. The subtle five o'clock shadow, though not too visible, suited him well. He smiled at me softly.

"I saw you by ringside back at the arena during my match," Adam began, his deep husky voice sending shivers down my spine, "and it's quite a coincidence that we both ended up in the same nightclub right after the show."

"It is," I agreed, finding myself lost in his soft green eyes as he walked over to stand next to me on my left, propping his elbow against the counter while standing sideways facing me.

"I'm Adam, Adam Copeland," he introduced to me, sliding his large hand across the smooth counter and grasping my hand in his, stroking the back of it. I felt my heart flutter in my chest upon his skin contacting mine. He glanced up at me and smirked, just the way I loved it, "but I guess you knew that already, judging from that two-sided poster supporting my character you were waving whenever I glanced at your direction, which I have to say, was quite often, if you asked me. Cena almost knocked me out with that shoulder block since I almost lost concentration on the match momentarily."

I giggled and took a quick sip of my Shirley Temple. I felt Adam's hand squeeze mine cheekily. "So you're choosing to drink from that instead of the drink I ordered you?" he asked me playfully.

"Well I did order this drink first," I pointed out, gulping the entire glass down in just one second.

"Damn woman, you can drink," said Adam, pretending to be surprised, "speaking of which, beautiful, I need to know your name before I get to know you any further."

Without hesitation I introduced myself. "Cute name, Lilly Hazel," complimented Adam, brushing his lips against my knuckles.

"I…I…" I began to stutter, but he squeezed my hand again in assurance.

"No need to be nervous, Lilly," his voice sauntered throughout every single nerve of my body, "you're absolutely beautiful."

I swore I nearly choked on my spit right there. Rarely have I had anyone notice me at all due to my supposed 'depressing' fashion sense, and Adam Copeland calling me beautiful encompassed every single compliment anyone had ever given me. I suddenly felt rather flustered and was left momentarily silent.

"I…thank you…" I murmured, not knowing what else to say.

"No need to thank me, Lilly Hazel," insisted Adam, "I want to know more about you. Of course you wouldn't mind if you told me a little bit about yourself first, since you are obviously a longtime fan considering your sign's reference to my five second pose from the early days of Edge & Christian reeking of awesomeness."

I laughed and shared a few facts about myself, as I wasn't a huge fan of telling my whole life story to strangers whom I'd only just met. I told him nothing more aside from the fact that I was studying at RISD and tonight my friends had taken me to watch _Backlash_ because my birthday was the day before and they wanted to treat me. I also told him about how I got interested in professional wrestling and that it had been a childhood interest that I still enjoyed till this day.

"I don't know too many pretty girls like yourself who watched Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan instead of playing with their Barbies when they were little," said Adam, "I'm quite impressed, Lilly Pad."

"Lilly Pad?" I asked, not at all dumbfounded at that corny nickname he'd just given me, "unless you want me to 'accidentally' spill my drink all over your shirt, I suggest you not call me that."

"Oooh, feisty," he teased, winking at me once again. I took a large gulp of the drink he ordered me and instantly I began coughing furiously, the alcohol burning my insides. I drank alcohol, but the most hardcore I've ever tried was wine, and that stuff didn't even contain half of the content my drink contained. I felt a sharp headache hit me and I felt my eyelids lower as I clutched my forehead.

"Oh fuck! Are you okay, Lilly?" exclaimed Adam, noticing the effects of the drink wearing me out negatively. He wrapped an arm around me and I immediately stiffened; why did he act like he cared about me only just when I met him? I couldn't think of a single guy that would put his arm around me for the first time I meet him.

"I'm sorry…" I coughed, choking a laugh as I tried to calm down, "it's just…I'm not used to drinking something like that…"

"That explains the Shirley Temple," he stated, "and no problem. Next time I order you a drink I'll make sure I get you something mild."

I started to feel lightheaded and before realizing it, I felt my heavy head collapse against Adam's rock hard shoulder. "Hey, you don't look good at all," said Adam worriedly, brushing a few stray hairs away from my flushed face, "why don't I take you back to my room so you can rest up?"

My eyes shot open and I felt a jolt of electricity hit me. Adam Copeland just offered to bring me up to his hotel room. All of a sudden, I began to panic, not knowing what to do at this point, because my head hurt like a bitch and I could hardly concentrate on my thoughts. The only words that replayed through my mind were from that last question he brought up. I was absolutely frozen to the spot upon my disbelief.

"I don't know…" I sighed, "maybe I should tell my friends, but I don't want to ruin their fun."

"Then come with me, sweetheart," he flashed me that heartwarming grin which made me melt into a puddle. And with that, I gave in. He wrapped a muscular arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze, leading me away from the bar.

"Oh my God, Lilly! You're with…with…" gasped Kayla excitedly, suddenly breaking herself away from Connor, who looked extremely disappointed as he was about to kiss her.

"Lilly Hazel, where are you going with your new hunky boyfriend?" teased Laurel, "don't call if you're late!"

"Laurel!" I exclaimed, not wanting to give her the wrong idea as I heard Adam chuckle next to me. Adam was just letting me rest up in his room, why turn down the opportunity to spend some time with my crush of eleven years?

My head was beginning to stir; that cocktail was quite strong and I wasn't quite used to it, having taken a big gulp of it. I could vaguely hear Torrey yelling, "How the hell did he get you, Lilly? And where the fuck is he taking you?"

"Shut your ass, Torrey, Lilly doesn't look very good," said Laurel.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Brian, "it's…"

"Shush!" hissed Kayla, planting her hand over Brian's mouth before he could scream out the name, "don't attract attention!"

"My head hurts," I moaned half-sleepily, leaning against Adam's chest.

"Don't worry, Torrey, he'll take care of her," said Connor.

"She's not feeling well and I'm taking her somewhere quiet to let her rest," assured Adam, gently escorting me out of the noisy atmosphere and into the almost empty parking lot.

"Where are we going?"

"Damn, you're obviously not feeling well at all, Lilly," said Adam, gently placing me in the front seat while he hopped in the driver's seat of his rental car. He felt my forehead before taking off for whatever destination he had in mind. I felt nauseous and light-headed and I was dying to crash into my bed. I passed out momentarily in that front seat as the alcohol took over my sense of thought…

I was suddenly jolted awake two minutes later by the screeching halt of the car and the jerk of the brakes, interrupting my brief nap. I squinted my eyes, fluttering my eyelids as I tried to picture the blinding bright lights in front of me. Slumping back into my seat, I heard the clinking of keys, the click of the car door opening, and then shuffles coming from my right side.

"Adam?" I moaned softly, not knowing where I was at this point, "where are we?"

"C'mon, babe, let's get you upstairs," said Adam, grasping my arm and pulling me out of the car, gently wrapping an arm around my waist as he escorted me to the hotel. By now the effects of the alcohol were beginning to wear off and I was starting to feel my surroundings around me. All I knew at this very moment was that Adam Copeland was taking me up to his hotel room to rest up before letting me head home to my apartment, which I had no clue how far away it was, since I'd never been to this part of town before. We began walking towards the elevators.

Adam slid his card key into the slot of the elevator button panel before pressing one of the round buttons that would cause the elevator to bring us up to his room. His arm was still wrapped around my waist and at the same time, he was holding my hand in his larger palm. As the elevator took us up several floors, I was looking up at Adam, whose attention was focused on the screen blinking numbers in consecutive order. What was he thinking now that he had me alone? Was he simply going to let me lay down for a bit, sign me an autograph, and then let me go home? I expected nothing else to go further than that; after all, I silently bet he's done this with many other female fans like myself before.

All of a sudden, realizing he was taking me up to _his_ hotel room, I felt frightened. What was I going to do in the same room as Adam? Could that perhaps mean he had something planned for me as soon as I stepped into his hotel room?

"Adam?"

"Yeah, babe?" he asked, flashing me that dazzling smile once again that made me feel weak in the knees. _No, _I silently reminded myself, _don't act like the retarded, giggly fan girl that you'll find in every single arena. I can't make myself look like a fool, let alone easy to him. I'm not that kind of girl. _But that smile instantly brought me into a trance and I lost all thought of what I was trying to tell him.

"I have to go home," was all I could reply.

"You don't look good at all, babe," insisted Adam, stepping in front of me and cupping my cheeks, circling the skin with his thumbs, "I'm not letting you get home like this. C'mon, just stay for a couple of minutes."

"Adam, I'm not that kind of girl," I protested gently, "if you're really taking me up to your hotel room because you want to turn me into a ring rat, then—"

His lips on mine suddenly cut my words off and my mind instantly went blank. All I could feel was Adam kissing me. His lips were so soft and gentle as they massaged my own, the kiss light and tender until I felt Adam's tongue gliding across my bottom lip. Just earlier tonight I was sitting by ringside with my friends and a couple thousand other people, watching Edge and John Cena battling out in a Last Man Standing Match. I was cheering on the man who eventually won the title from his opponent.

I had worshipped that man since I was a mere fifteen year old. I had his face all over my bedroom wall back in my house in Toronto. I had every single one of his matches recorded, whether it be on cassette or DVD. I had nearly most of his merchandise dating back from the days of his tag teaming with Christian. I had been a fan of his since the very first day he debuted in the WWE. Since watching him emerge from the crowd that day eleven years ago, I'd been in love with him, dying to meet him.

And now, eleven years later, I was kissing him in a hotel elevator.

_This can't be real, it can't be, _I thought, pinching myself a few times to try and snap out of this dream I was having. I was probably still feeling dizzy from the strong alcoholic content of that cocktail. When I pinch myself awake, I'll be lying in Brian's van with the rest of my friends as we drive back home to our dorms.

The 'ding' of the elevator sounded and I instantly tore my lips away from Adam, who was staring at me intently, his green eyes poring over me, burning a hole in my skin. No, I wasn't dreaming at all. I actually kissed him.

But why hadn't I felt like I'd floated up into the clouds? I'd just kissed the hunkiest and the most handsome man I'd ever seen in my life. I'd just kissed my wrestler crush since I was a teenager. Yes, I did feel sparks, but they didn't last very long.

_Maybe it's because I'd only just met the guy and then out of nowhere he decides to kiss me,_ I thought.

"You are an amazing kisser, babe," Adam growled seductively, pushing my mind back up to the clouds. I couldn't help but let out a dorky giggle.

"And you're laugh is incredibly sexy," he added, his never ending compliments only fueling the burning sensation in my cheeks. He led me down the hall and then stopped in front of a door, which I supposed was his room. He briefly let go of me to slide the keycard into the slot to unlock the door and pushed it open.

"Come on in, Lilly Pad," he invited me, gesturing for me to enter first. Normally I would've been offended by that corny nickname, but because I somehow couldn't think sensibly and this was Adam Copeland calling me that, I gave into him and let him slip by with that one. Giving into him, I slowly walked into the dimly lit room without a single reconsideration crossing my mind.

That spellbinding kiss had prevented me from being myself at all. I was usually realistic, witty, and sensible whenever it came to this type of situation where a stranger invited me to his bedroom, but Adam kissing me quickly erased every single trace of practical thinking. I'd kissed a few guys before, but never have any of those guys' kisses put me under their spell, just like Adam's was doing to me right now.

As Adam closed the door behind me, I stood on the spot admiring the luxurious setting of the room Adam had booked for his stay in Providence. The pale, silk curtains were drawn apart from the large balcony window next to the large, fluffy king-sized bed adorned with pillows of different shapes and sizes. The sight of the bed instantly hit me—I realized what Adam's true intentions were in bringing me up here. Now, I was beginning to panic, not knowing what to do in this situation, for it was the famous Adam Copeland's hotel room I was standing in, and the occupant of the room lurking behind me.

I let out a gasp when I felt a pair of arms slither around my waist from behind, pulling me slowly into a much taller, muscular frame. I felt the heat close behind me and I shivered upon realizing he was just centimeters behind. One arm slipped off my waist and crawled up my back, taking my hair out of the side ponytail it was clipped in. Brushing my hair away from the side of my neck, I felt his fingers dancing on my exposed skin and I could feel him breathing onto my neck, the ends of his blond hair brushing onto my skin.

His arm returned back around my waist, pulling me in closer to him if that were possible. _I can't believe this is actually happening_. I was whipped back to reality when I felt Adam's soft lips against my skin, kissing my neck slowly and gently. I fluttered my eyes shut and leaned my head back against his chest. I could smell the aftershave still tainted on his stubble despite the early hours of this morning long gone. Adam traveled his kisses up towards my ear, his lips tracing the curve of my lobes.

"Mmmm…" he purred, as he began to slide his hands up and down my sides, "you taste so good, baby…"

I gasped when he squeezed my butt playfully and he chuckled at my response. That was when I knew I had to get out of this situation before letting myself get taken advantage of by a stranger, something I had sworn never to do in my life.

"Adam…stop…" I groaned, as one of his hands went down to my thigh and began rubbing the exposed skin below my mid-thigh.

"Make me," he teased, crawling his fingers underneath the skirt of my dress. This was followed by his hand sliding up my thigh and underneath my dress.

At that moment, I wasn't going to let him tease me and seduce me any longer with his sweet talk and gestures, even if he was my longtime wrestler crush. I knew I was much better than that, letting a complete stranger take advantage of me. I grabbed his hand before it could creep up my skirt any further to stop him, because I knew he had gone too far.

"I can't do this," I breathed, pushing away from him and quickly rushing to the door after grabbing my purse. I was surprised he hadn't made any attempt to grab me and prevent my escape.

"I'm sorry, Adam, Edge, whatever your name is," I said quickly, grasping the door handle and pulling the door wide open, "I had a great night, but I think it should stop here. As much as I think you're a really great guy, I'm not going to do this. I've been a fan of yours since the beginning of your run with the WWE, but I know better than to let you take advantage of me and scar me with the title of 'ring rat' for the rest of my life. I may be one of the many girls you've picked up and taken to your hotel room but I could be the only one who'd turn you down. I'm sorry Adam, I can't do this and I won't do this with you. I'm just not that kind of girl."

And with that I was taking off for the elevator, struggling to fight the tears escaping from my eyes.


	3. Never Look Back

****To Pique an Interest****

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Never Look Back<strong>

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><p><strong>*Author's Note: Now what happens after Lilly leaves Adam in the last chapter? This one will tell from both sides of the story, from Lilly's point of view and a third person point of view telling Adam's side of the story.*<strong>

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><p><span>April 26<span>th, 2009: Don't Look Back

I couldn't look back. I made a run for the elevator and dialed up a cab, not daring to look back even once. I heard Adam's screams for me chasing after me, but I didn't look back.

As soon as the elevator doors shut, I sank to my knees and cried. I cried my eyes out, hardly believing what I'd been through just five minutes ago. Just five minutes ago, the man whose face covered my bedroom walls for eleven years was seducing me. His lips were on my neck and we were in a dark, empty bedroom together just five minutes ago. He was whispering words of enticement into my ear as his hands explored my body just five minutes ago.

But I wasn't love struck. I wasn't ecstatic to be in the moment. I knew millions of girls would have died to be in my shoes, having just received a private invitation to Adam Copeland's bedroom, but if I could I would tell those millions of girls it wasn't worth the shot.

For years one crazy fan girl would've been bobbing on her toes as she watched the blond debonair spearing his opponents in the ring, thinking how amazing it would be to spend five minutes with that man. She would've begged her father to take her to see the WWE whenever they hit her hometown for a show. She would've prayed every day to see that man live in action, to watch him performing in person and at the same time, praying he would notice her from ringside. But now she would pray to never encounter Adam 'Edge' Copeland in her life after he'd attempted to drug her and take her to his bed.

Adam looked exactly like the man I'd envisioned meeting one day. He had the same mannerisms, the same muscled physique, and the same cocky yet sexy smirk that could make my panties drop in a heartbeat. But Adam wasn't the same Edge I'd always dreamed of meeting since I was fifteen years old.

I was twenty-six years old and swore to remove every bit of evidence of that man from my bedroom.

As I flagged a cab to take me back to my apartment, I was still shaken in disbelief. For years I dreamed of meeting Edge, but never in my life had I ever imagined I'd actually come this close to being with him. When Adam kissed me I was thrilled at first, but upon realizing he thought of me as nothing more than a toy by attempting to drug me and taking me up to his room, I lost all respect for him, both as a wrestler and a person. I thought as a veteran wrestler, he would've been more distinguished and respected, not a classless, promiscuous womanizer.

To think I'd looked up to that very same man who seduced me for eleven years. To think I spent possibly thousands of dollars on pay-per-views, DVDs, merchandise, and magazine subscriptions, just to see him, follow him, and read about him. To think for years I'd dreamed of meeting him and falling in love with him, a dream that turned into a nightmare when I realized all those hopes and dreams of being with him were gone.

To think that now, I could no longer look at his face all over my bedroom wall and feel my heart flutter, my head floating up into the clouds, my imagination drifting into unrealistic fantasies involving him and I together.

I thanked the driver once he dropped me off in front of my apartment, and as soon as I passed through the security gate and everything, I fumbled my purse for my room key and suddenly realized something was missing.

"Shit!" I swore, realizing my phone was not in my purse. This day couldn't have gotten any worse since Adam tried drugging and seducing me in his room. Now my phone was gone, and I hadn't the slightest idea where I'd last left it.

I reluctantly shrugged it off, jogging up to the apartment that I shared with Laurel and knocking on the door to wake my roommate up, since I'd been so forgetful to leave my keys next to my nightstand once again before leaving the place. At this point, I was fighting to control my tears, for my 26th birthday that was supposed to be the night of my life had somehow gone disastrous. First Adam, then my phone, and now my room keys, and if Laurel wasn't going to get up on her ass and answer the door, I was going to have to spend the night in the janitor's closet. At this point I couldn't control my tears and

I jumped in surprise as I heard the door handle creak open, and there stood a groggy, disheveled Laurel, her dirty blonde curls in a bedhead.

"…L-Lilly?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I threw my arms around my best friend and cried, not caring if I'd woken her up at two in the morning. The best day of my life had turned into the worst day of my life and I wanted someone to comfort me. Little had I realized my life had completely changed within a span of a few hours.

* * *

><p>Back at the hotel, Adam stood by the doorway, speechless as the halls echoed his voice screaming for the beautiful redhead he'd just met earlier that night. He let out a frustrated grunt, wanting to beat himself up for making her run away from him; he'd let the inner Casanova get the best of him and control his mind into taking her up to his room and attempting to seduce her.<p>

He hung his head low in defeat, wishing he hadn't done that to Lilly. Hell, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in a long time, let alone, the first woman he'd brought up to his room for a while. Her fiery red hair was a familiar trait in his ideal woman, for a past girlfriend he'd notoriously been with had that very same color. However, unlike Amy, Lilly's auburn locks were her natural color, from years of experience with several redheads before her.

He couldn't forget the look of fright in her hazel green eyes as she fled away from him, as she stuttered those words that continued to echo in his head…

"_I've been a fan of yours since the beginning of your run with the WWE, but I know better than to let you take advantage of me and scar me with the title of 'ring rat' for the rest of my life. I may be one of the many girls you've picked up and taken to your hotel room but I could be the only one who'd turn you down. I'm sorry Adam, I can't do this and I won't do this with you. I'm just not that kind of girl."_

He knew from the beginning of their conversation back at the club that she wasn't the type of girl who'd throw herself at him and beg him to take her to bed. Although she was a fan, she was different from the rest of the female groupies who constantly flocked him. He initially believed her to be just like the rest of them when he locked eyes with her from ringside, but when they locked eyes at the club earlier that night and when he saw her consistently denying being the apple of his eye, he knew Lilly Hazel was one of a kind.

Adam sighed in remorse. He wished he could find a way to apologize to Lilly for the incident that occurred earlier than night. But how could he contact her? She left no phone number, no address, no nothing. All he knew about her was that she was a student at RISD and she'd been a fan of his since his debut with the company…

…and the very fact that she was incredibly beautiful, brightly intelligent, and most definitely his type of girl.

Just as Adam was about to step back into his room, he accidentally kicked something that had been lying on the floor. Curious, he picked up the stray item and discovered it to be someone's iPhone.

It definitely wasn't his—he never set a professional picture of himself as the wallpaper of his lock screen.

Adam slid the unlock icon and raised an eyebrow in surprise upon realizing there wasn't a passcode. He gasped when the screen switched to the main menu, the background picture of a gorgeous auburn-haired beauty, her hazel green eyes twinkling underneath the sunlight as her slightly tanned complexion glowed rosily at the camera, her flawless smile illuminating her delicate, pink lips.

He could tell from the wallpaper this belonged to the woman who stole his heart at first sight, the woman who caught his attention standing by ringside watching his match, the woman who he'd managed to have the balls to get up and talk to her at that club…

…the same woman who would most likely refuse to even look at him again, after unintentionally intimidating her and scaring her away, and he possibly couldn't see her ever again after tonight.


	4. Unexpected Call

****To Pique an Interest****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Unexpected Call<strong>

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><p><strong>*Author's Note: The last chapter ended with Adam 'Edge' Copeland finding the beautiful Lilly Hazel's dropped phone lying on the ground of his hotel room. How will he find a way to return it to her? And what becomes of his connection with the lovely redhead? Find out in this chapter…*<strong>

* * *

><p>That night, Adam Copeland couldn't sleep. His eyes wide open, he was flat on his back, his hands resting on the nape of his neck. He bites his bottom lip, he can still taste the caramel flavored lip gloss of the auburn-haired beauty he smooched in the elevator just hours ago.<p>

Just hours ago, he'd been swept off his feet when he locked eyes with the most beautiful woman he'd ever encountered in his life. He could tell from her mannerisms that she wasn't just any fan girl sitting by ringside and going gaga for him. But just hours ago, he'd let his inner womanizer not only repel her away from him, but completely eliminate almost any chance of seeing the beautiful Lilly Hazel again.

Adam hadn't recalled any other time he'd felt this way about a fan girl. Most of the ones he'd encountered would throw themselves at him and pray their chances of him taking them to bed. Lilly, however, was a different story, despite being a fan since the beginning of his WWE career. From what he could tell, she wasn't the type who jumped onto the bandwagon and mindlessly followed what everyone else did. He remembered observing her from the top of the ring post, passionately waving her supportive sign towards his character whilst ignoring the glares of the many nine-year-olds around her donning Cenation gear. When he'd given her those flirtatious smirks from across the room in that club, instead of squawking like a headless chicken, she tenaciously denied being the apple of his eye. Drawn to her unique behavior towards him as a fan, Adam approached her, hoping to get to know the beautiful redhead.

Unfortunately the night that at first went smoothly suddenly skidded to a halt, when he let lust cloud his mind, taking over his senses, and controlling him into seducing the goddess that blew him away. He would soon snap out of his senses when she pushed him away and fled, but not before confirming that she wasn't like the other fan girls he'd picked up in the past.

Since the incident, Adam was dying to make it up to Lilly, but he hadn't the slightest clue where she lived and where she came from. Then he remembered the cell phone she dropped the previous night, the cell phone that must have fallen out of her purse when she left in a hurry. Although he personally felt looking through someone else's phone without their permission was unacceptable, he needed to break a rule to get what he needed, and that was to find Lilly and not only return her phone, but give her a formal apology as well. The very last thing he wanted to do was to leave her scorned and ashamed of herself for nearly being lured into his bed.

Adam remained unusually quiet as he joined his childhood best friend and fellow colleague, Jason 'Christian' Reso, downstairs in the hotel lobby to grab breakfast in the café. Jason noticed his friend's curious behavior and frowned slightly, knowing he never withdrew himself into silence.

"What's with the long face, Ad?" Jason inquired, as Adam returned from the buffet with just a slice of wholemeal toast and a small serving of scrambled eggs, "you just beat Cena last night and got your bonus, so shouldn't you be a little happier?"

Adam was thankful for the bonus he was to receive for his performance the previous night against Cena, but that wasn't what troubled him at the moment.

"It has nothing to do with the pay-per-view," mumbled Adam.

"Then what's bothering you? Did something happen last night? C'mon Ad, you can tell me anything; we're buddies, remember?" persuaded Jason, "it's just that you're not normally like this at all unless something bad happened the night before. Was it that girl you were checking out at the club last night?"

"That girl is Lilly," said Adam grumpily, "and she's not some girl I was checking out at the club last night."

"She must be something special, Ad, because it doesn't happen everyday that you not only buy a drink for her, but you also put her and her friend's drinks on your bill as well," Jason pointed out, "did something happen between you and her?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Adam insisted quickly.

"This isn't like you at all, Ad, you're never quiet about girls," said Jason, raising an eyebrow, "seriously, what happened?"

"She was an amazing woman, hell she's gorgeous," said Adam, "but she's not just any fan girl by ringside."

"You mean you took another groupie to your room? Jeez, Adam, you need to quit sleazing around," scoffed Jason.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Adam, "I did take her to my room, but nothing went that far! I fucking messed up and lost control, and I think I scared her! She fucking left me and that's when I realized I did something fucking wrong!"

"Chill, Adam, chill," Jason was shocked at his friend's outbursts. He never flared into a temper unless he was in his Edge character.

"I can't fucking chill right now, Jay," snapped Adam, "I fucking messed up with Lilly and I'll never see her again!"

"This Lilly chick sounds really special, Ad," said Jason, "but didn't you say she was a fan?"

"Lilly's not just any fan, Jay," corrected Adam, slamming his fork on the table, "unlike all the other bandwagon trolls who've only known my name in the past week or so, she's been following my character since the day I debuted in this company. I first saw her by ringside holding up one of those signs supporting my character, and that says something because she was surrounded by a whole bunch of little kids wearing Cena's stuff."

"Doesn't sound like a bandwagon troll to me," agreed Jason.

"At first I thought she was just a pretty girl whom I'd never see again after the show," continued Adam, "but I was wrong when I spotted her by the bar with one of her friends at the club we hit last night."

"No wonder she caught your eye," said Jason, "out of all the girls in there you were only looking at her. She is quite pretty too."

"She's not pretty, Jay, she's fucking hot," corrected Adam stubbornly, "and yes, I will admit she was the only girl I was checking out last night."

"I saw you two talking at the bar for some time and then you guys just disappeared," noted Jason, "where did you two go?"

"I took her to my room because she was sensitive to the drink I bought for her," answered Adam, "she was feeling nauseous and I thought I'd let her rest up before letting her head home. And then when we were in the elevator together, that was when it started."

"What started?"

"I didn't know what I was thinking and I kissed her."

"What?" exclaimed Jason, his eyes bulging, "why the hell did you kiss her? You mean you just smooched some random fan you were interested in out of nowhere?"

"That's not the worst part, jackass," snapped Adam, "I remember leading her to my room and then locked the door behind me, and the next thing I realized, she'd pushed me aside and made a bolt for the door, and she said she wasn't going to let me take advantage of her and scar her as a ring rat for the rest of her life. And then she said, 'I may be one of the many girls you've picked up and taken to your hotel room but I could be the only one who'd turn you down' and left."

Jason was silent. This was the first time he'd heard of a woman turn Adam's seductive charms down, especially a fan girl who'd followed him since the beginning of his WWE career. What made him curious, however, was why Adam was so interested in a stranger he hardly knew.

"Well this is a first," commented Jason, "Adam Copeland actually had a woman walk out on him for the first time. This Lilly girl was really smart about her decision, if you ask me. I'm not exactly a fan of you sleeping with random women you pick up from clubs."

"But I need to find her, Jay," said Adam, "and I don't know where she lives."

"She left no email, no number, no address?" asked Jason.

"No, all she left, or should I say, dropped, was her cell phone," replied Adam, fumbling through his pockets and pulling out an iPhone that did not look like his at all.

"How'd you know this is her cell if there's a picture of you on the lock screen?" inquired Jason, eyeing the phone.

"Slide to unlock; there's no passcode," instructed Adam. Jason nodded when the screen flashed to the main menu, his eyes meeting the background picture of a beautiful green-eyed redhead smiling radiantly at the camera.

"Wow, she's a something," Jason complimented the picture of Lilly, "no wonder she caught your attention; I would be attracted to that beautiful red hair of hers too."

"Shut up," snapped Adam, "I need to find a number or address."

Much to his luck, Adam scrolled through her contacts book and found a contact listed as 'Home—Providence'. He selected it and found an address and number.

"Maybe you should call the girl first before arriving at her doorstep," suggested Jason, "she might not be home or you could reach there at a rather inconvenient time."

"Good point," agreed Adam, selecting the number and holding the phone next to his ear.

* * *

><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

"Lilly, you can't lock yourself up in your fucking room forever!" Laurel yelled through my locked bedroom door, banging on it furiously, "We need to talk!"

My face was buried in my pillow, my body collapsed face first on the bed. Hours had passed since what had happened last night, and I could still smell the scent of his cologne in my hair. I didn't want to talk about what happened the night before, nor did I want to even think about it.

The night that I thought would've been the night of my life turned into another story, when I realized what Adam's true intentions were. After that spellbinding kiss in the elevator, I became lost in the figment of my imagination that we were going to float up into the clouds and fall in love. But that all changed when I suddenly found myself standing in a dimly lit hotel room, with Adam's arms wrapped around my waist from behind and his lips on my neck.

Since his break-up with Lita, I'd heard countless stories of him sleeping around with other women before settling with Charissa—I wondered what happened to her—for a year or two, but little did I realize I'd be one of those women whom he tried to seduce. I wasn't some ring rat looking to add a notch to my belt by sleeping with a WWE Superstar and telling the whole world what he was like in bed. I was simply a fan starstruck to meet him in person. Although there were nights when I dreamed of him and I together in a fantasy together, all I really wanted from him was an autograph, picture, and just small talk with him. I hadn't thought the one night I meet him would turn out something beyond a simple meeting with my favorite WWE Superstar.

I glanced up at the ceiling, my heart tearing up into pieces once more when the large poster of Edge covering nearly half of my ceiling stared back at me with his signature cocky smirk. Somehow, I could no longer look at his handsome features and feel my heart flutter. As I struggled to sleep the previous night, I could no longer envision myself with him in my dreams. Somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to like him anymore, after what had happened last night in his hotel room.

"Lilly Hazel!" screeched Laurel, "you are going to open that fucking door or else…"

"Or what, Laurel?" I snapped back at her when I finally gave in to opening the door, "you'll bust my door down? Please; you don't even have enough strength to fucking carry all your damn textbooks around campus."

"We need to talk, young lady, you can't just lock yourself up in your room all because of what happened last night!" demanded Laurel, allowing herself in and taking a seat on one of my bean bags.

"I don't want to fucking talk about last night," I said stubbornly.

"Well you need to explain to me why you came home crying last night at two in the morning," said Laurel bluntly.

I sighed and collapsed back onto my bed, refusing to look at the several posters covering the walls of my bedroom. Every inch of the room reminded me of the man I was supposedly 'in love' with for the past eleven years. I didn't want to talk about it, but the same pair of eyes that stared at me from every angle of the room forced me to do so unwillingly.

"Everything between Adam and I was fine until we…"

The phone from outside began ringing loudly, interrupting my chance to explain last night to Laurel, who instantly rushed outside to pick up the phone. Approximately thirty seconds later, I heard her swear, "Are you fucking kidding me? You're really not him, are you?"

"What the fuck is going on, Laurel?" I exclaimed, bursting my door open.

"Some guy is calling and he claims he's Adam Copeland," answered Laurel, "maybe you should answer, Lil, he does sound awfully like the man himself. By the way, he wants to talk to you."

My heart stopped. How in the world did Adam get my number? I don't recall giving it to him the previous night; I knew perfectly well I wasn't drunk and hadn't given him any of my personal information.

"Tell him I don't," I said stubbornly, although a small part of me screamed for me to answer the phone.

"Well he's not taking 'no' for an answer, Lilly," remarked Laurel, "he already said he's not hanging up until you pick up, and by the way, he has your iPhone."

"What the fuck?" I exclaimed, "hand me the damn phone, Laurel!"


	5. Decisions

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Decisions<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I apologize for the delay on the update for this story...As usual, I most unfortunately do not own anything that belongs to the WWE...<strong>

* * *

><p>It took me every single bit of my strength to retrieve the cordless phone from a persistent Laurel and answer a call from none other than Adam Copeland. Had everything last night not have happened, I would've been more than willing to scream my lungs out and tell him how much I <em>lurved<em> him. But no, this was far from the reaction expected from a crazy Edge fan, or should I say, _once_ a crazy Edge fan.

I bit my lip as Laurel passed me the cordless phone. As I pressed the receiver to my ear, I could hear the subtle sound of the Providence traffic in the background, my lips dry as I struggled to form the words I wanted to say to Adam. I wanted to yell at him, scream at him, but at the same time, I wanted to burst into tears and cry to him about how sorry I was for being such a slut in his presence, letting him swoop me into his arms and up to his hotel room late at night. Oddly, for someone who'd lost respect for Adam overnight, I was nervous, very, very nervous, to say a word.

"Lilly?" Adam said softly, breaking the dead silence between us.

I felt a lump in my throat. "Hi," I managed to croak.

"I…I just wanted to…"

"What do you want, Adam? I mean…Edge?" I stuttered softly.

"Don't call me Edge, Lilly. I don't want you to refer to me that way," insisted Adam, "call me Adam."

"How did you get my number?" I began to drink up a sense of courage as Laurel watched me, biting her nails anxiously, which surprised me because Laurel only bit her nails in times of extreme nervousness.

"Last night," explained Adam. I choked upon the memories that flooded through my head the previous night, his hands on my hips, his breath against my skin, his lips on mine…

"You dropped your phone on the way out," continued Adam, "I tried running after you but you were long gone before I realized it."

I could hear the hurt in his trembling response and I felt guilty, but then I remembered the events that led up to what almost happened the previous night. I remembered how he had been the one to lure me into his hotel room, and how he used the kiss in the elevator to make me fall for his manipulative tricks of seduction. I felt all the rage and anger in my head the previous night come rushing back into my head, and before I realized it, I was on the very verge of screaming at Adam through the phone.

"Give me my fucking phone back, Adam Copeland!" I exclaimed angrily, "I don't know how the fuck you managed to hack into it in the first place, but I want it back or I'll personally come to the next house show you're in and get it back from you even if I had to get through fucking security!"

"Lilly! Chill!" cried Adam, sounding shocked, "please, calm down! I just want to give your phone back to you, and all I need is your address?"

"Fine," I sputtered, reluctantly giving away my address and apartment number, "but make sure you forget it once you leave."

"Lilly, I want to talk about what happened last night…"

"Save your words and get moving, Copeland," I interrupted, "I just want my phone back, that's all."

"I'll only give your phone back on the condition that you let me apologize for my actions the previous night," said Adam honestly. My eyes flew wide open. The Rated-R Superstar was actually _asking _to make an _apology_?

"Who are you and what have you done with yourself, Adam," I gasped, "and no, I'm not joking this time."

"What did he say, Lilly? What did he say?" pestered Laurel.

"Shut up, Laurel, I can't hear him on the damn phone," I snapped at her. When I turned my attention back to the receiver, however, I swore loudly. Adam had hung up without a goodbye or anything.

"Damn!" I swore silently, putting the cordless phone back, "so I guess I'll have to wait for Prince Charming to deliver me my stupid phone and then I can start ridding my room of every single poster and goodie bag of that damned man Adam Copeland." I stomped into my room and hopped onto my bed to try and remove the large Edge poster facing me on my ceiling. I didn't care how ridiculous I looked, jumping on the bed at age 26, but I had to get rid of that damn thing somehow.

"Lilly, don't you think you're going a little overboard with this?" asked Laurel, who had followed me into the room and was staring at me in disbelief as I struggled to reach for the Blu-tac that held the stupid poster up.

"I am doing what is right, Laurel, and that is to rid my room of every single reminisce of the man who tried to get sleazy with me last night," I said stubbornly, managing to peel off one corner.

Laurel shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lil, but I think you look really, really stupid doing that," she pointed out, "I mean, who jumps on their bed when they just turned 26?"

"How about you shut the fuck up and help me get rid of this, Laurel, you're 5'9'' and I'm three inches shorter," I snapped at her. Laurel rolled my eyes and grabbed a chair from my desk, positioning it next to my bed. She was just about to step on it until the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" Laurel called, jolting out of my room. I swore again under my breath and hopped onto the chair. Even on my tiptoes I could barely reach the sticky Blu-Tac that held up the giant Edge poster from the 2007 Survivor Series.

I wasn't out of my mind. I wanted nothing to do with him anymore. I couldn't believe I was the victim of almost becoming a ring rat because of what happened last night. I still felt like the biggest slut in the world, letting myself give into his charms. I suppose that's what I deserved for showing off my goodies to the world.

"Lilly! You…you have a g-g-guest!" I raised an eyebrow in surprise upon noticing the stutter in Laurel's announcement.

"Tell him I'll be there as soon as I get this stupid poster off of my ceiling!" I called back.

"Too bad, babe, I'm already here, and by the way, nice place."

My heart stopped. I couldn't believe it. He was in my apartment. Adam Copeland was standing in my apartment waiting for me.

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs upon the sight of one of the top Superstars in the WWE standing in my apartment, but at the same time, I wanted to yell at him to get out and never come back. Though a part of me wanted him to stay so badly, the other kept reminding me of how he treated me last night, how he tried to seduce me last night, thinking I was one of those half-brained whores who'd give into his charms.

I dared myself to walk out from my room to find Adam sitting casually on our couch in front of the TV, his green eyes watching me softly, his expression gentle and oddly sincere, far from the cocky yet sexy smirk I expected from him. I bit my bottom lip in guilt, for I could see how much he wanted to be here to not only return my phone to me, but to apologize for last night as well. For eleven years, I hadn't the slightest idea this was what Adam was like in real life, but then again, last night was my very first meeting with him. I knew he was far from the character he portrayed on television, but seeing him sitting in my living room made me more nervous than I'd ever felt before. I noticed Laurel too couldn't keep her eyes off of Adam as she prepared a cup of espresso for him; the fact that a celebrity was in our living room wasn't something that happened every day.

"Come here, Lilly," said Adam softly, petting the empty spot on the couch, "I really want to talk about what happened last night."

"I'd rather not let you put your grimy hands all over me again," I insisted coldly, not caring in the world who I was talking to at that very moment, "I'd rather you toss me my phone and get out of here so you can never see me again."

"I'd rather we talk like adults, Lilly," replied Adam gently, "I don't want any bad blood between us, but I'm not leaving or giving you your phone back until we at least settle things between us."

"Just do it, Lilly, it's not going to kill you," prompted Laurel, who walked out of the kitchen and served Adam his espresso, "and just to make you feel better, I'll leave you two alone so I won't get involved. I swear."

It took me all of my courage to walk across the room and take a seat next to Adam, the subtle scent of his cologne sending me into a trance. Adam hadn't taken his eyes off of mine, from the moment I stepped out of my bedroom till I was sitting right next to him on my couch. No smirk, no sexual innuendo, not a single attempt to touch any part of my body as I sat down next to him. This was the side of Adam Copeland I had never seen before in my life, perhaps no fan had ever seen before.

"Before you get mad at me, Lilly, I want to apologize for my actions last night," said Adam, before I could sputter any form of anger at him, "what I did—taking you up to my hotel room and taking advantage of you when you weren't in a stable condition—was completely classless of me. I honestly wanted to make sure you were okay from the drink; I really didn't know you were sensitive to strong alcohol."

"Then why did you buy me the drink in the first place?" I inquired him suspiciously. Adam glanced up from his hands and our green eyes met. There was a silence before he continued.

"I did what plenty of guys before me have done. I bought you a drink to show that I was interested in you," admitted Adam truthfully, "I saw you at ringside for my match against John Cena at _Backlash_ but I'd never thought I'd run into you again at the very same club the boys and I would visit to celebrate. To show that I was paying attention to you, I bought you the drink and put both you and your friend's bills on mine."

My heart stopped. Adam was interested in _me_?

"Why me?" I stuttered, "aren't I just some fan to you?"

"Don't say that, Lilly," he murmured, "you're actually the first girl I've bought a drink for in my entire life." I shot eyes wide open in surprise.

"Adam…" I instantly felt terrible. Just minutes ago, I was on the verge of screaming at him, and now I was feeling guilty for being so mean to the poor guy. This wasn't the sexy, cocky Edge I devoted every single day to just to watch him on my TV screen. This was Adam Copeland, a completely different persona from the one I imagined him to be in real life.

"There's no need to feel sorry for yourself, Lilly. It's my fucking fault I lost control of myself and scared you away," assured Adam.

"Do you honestly think I was _scared_ of you?" I exclaimed. Now my blood began to boil, for I believed Adam thought I was afraid of him.

"No! No! Not at all!" corrected Adam, waving his hands in protest, "I meant that my actions last night were too much for you to handle, and I couldn't fucking realize it until you snapped me out of it and left me."

"Adam…I don't know…" my voice faltered, "I don't know what to say…"

"Lilly, I'm so sorry, I'm truly sorry," begged Adam, "I promise I'll give you your phone back if you forgive me."

"So you're using some fucked up sob story to bribe me into forgiving you?" I hissed suspiciously.

"Like I said before, Lilly, I won't leave until we've gone on good terms," said Adam, giving me a small smile.

I was conflicted. I didn't know what to think. While I did feel guilty for making Adam feel upset over the incident, at the same time, I was furious that he was trying to use my phone as an excuse for earning my forgiveness.

"You know what, Lilly?" said Adam, after an extremely long silence, "why don't I let you think about it first." He pulled out my iPhone from his pocket and handed it back to me, standing up from the couch. I was too paralyzed to move; all I could do was watch him walk towards the front door and open it.

"I've decided that I'm not going to put any pressure on you, Lilly, so I'll give you as long as you want to make your decision. If you want to feel sorry for me and forgive me for my actions, or if you decide you don't ever want to see me again, give me a call and let me know," said Adam gently, "your phone didn't have a passcode lock so I simply added my number to your contacts. It's listed as 'Adam Copeland'. And by the way, I think that background picture of you is incredibly beautiful."

No words escaped my dry lips as I watched Adam slowly leave. I collapsed back onto the couch, utterly torn at what to do.


	6. Problem Solving

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Problem Solving<strong>

* * *

><p> <strong>Author's Note: I only own original characters in this story. In other words, I most unfortunately do not own any WWE Superstars. <strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>You know what, Lilly?" said Adam, after an extremely long silence, "why don't I let you think about it first." He pulled out my iPhone from his pocket and handed it back to me, standing up from the couch. I was too paralyzed to move; all I could do was watch him walk towards the front door and open it.<em>

"_I've decided that I'm not going to put any pressure on you, Lilly, so I'll give you as long as you want to make your decision. If you want to feel sorry for me and forgive me for my actions, or if you decide you don't ever want to see me again, give me a call and let me know," said Adam gently, "your phone didn't have a passcode lock so I simply added my number to your contacts. It's listed as 'Adam Copeland'. And by the way, I think that background picture of you is incredibly beautiful." _

_No words escaped my dry lips as I watched Adam slowly leave. I collapsed back onto the couch, utterly torn at what to do. _

The apartment was unusually silent as I stared down at my iPhone, which Adam had just returned to me moments earlier. His final words kept ringing in my ears, as though the playback of it wouldn't remove itself from my brain. A part of me wanted to run after him, to tell him that all was forgiven, to cry my eyes out in an apology one would recite like a love poem, but I was frozen. My toes rooted to the ground, every part of my body immobile, not a single thought of Adam could escape me.

Everything around me was silent and still, as though the world had stopped moving in time and space. I didn't even hear or notice Laurel creeping out from her room and taking a seat where Adam once occupied that empty spot next to me.

"Lilly…did something happen?" said Laurel, breaking the unusually long silence in our apartment.

I swear, I wanted to cry at the moment. I was such a bitch to Adam and once again, I made him go. I could no longer control my guilt as tears began to trickle down my cheeks. I buried my head down in shame, ashamed of what I did.

"God, I'm such a fucking bitch," I sobbed, "I fucking screwed up…"

"What did you do this time, Lil?" inquired Laurel.

"I had to be so _fucking_ mean to him to make him go," I cried angrily, "why did I have to get so _fucking _pissed at him over something that happened last night? He tells me that I'm more than just a fan to him and then I go and yell in his face. I'm so fucking stupid, Laurel."

"Wait a minute," said Laurel, "he actually said you were more than just a fan to him?"

"According to Adam, that's why he bought me the drink and paid for our drinks when we were at the club," I retold Laurel Adam's version of what had happened the previous night, "he claimed he was curious about me when he saw me for the second time at the same club he and his Superstar friends decided to hang out after the show, and he even admitted I was the first girl he'd ever bought a drink for."

A wide grin spread across Laurel's face and she instantly started screaming, bobbing up and down on her toes and clapping her hands excitedly, as though she'd completely disregarded everything I'd just told her.

"OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!" squealed Laurel happily, as my eyes shot wide open. One minute we were in a serious conversation, the next minute she was getting all excited for some stupid reason.

"What the fuck, Laurel?" I exclaimed.

"Don't 'what the fuck' me, Lilly Hazel, do you know what this means?" said Laurel excitedly, grabbing both of my hands.

"You're going fucking nuts?" I said sarcastically.

"No, you bitch! It means that he likes you!" cheered Laurel. I dropped my jaw in astonishment.

"Now I think you're fucking crazy, Laurel," I protested furiously, "I'm just some fucking fan to him!"

"You specifically said Adam wouldn't buy a drink for any fan girl he meets a club," said Laurel.

"I did not. I said Adam told me I was the first girl he ever bought a drink for," I corrected her.

"Whatever," said Laurel, dismissing my previous comment, "from what you've told me, I say you've got the attentions of a certain Rated-R Superstar. I mean, seriously, Lil, think about it. At _Backlash_ during his entrance, not only does he stare down at you from the top of the turnbuckle, but remember when he said something about you having taste in WWE Superstars? And don't forget that incident where he toppled over the barricade and landed right next to you, and he touched your thigh and gave you that super sexy smile of his."

Okay, so maybe I got a little more attention than other everyday fans of Edge, but that doesn't mean Adam Copeland has feelings for me in any way. He barely knew anything about me, aside from the small facts about myself that I gave away, and the fact that I was still pissed at him for what happened the previous night at his hotel room.

"But fans commonly run into wrestlers at clubs after events and pay-per-views," I pointed out, "and I bet he's sweet-talked plenty of other girls before me, standing at bars with their friends and fretting over whether they were looking in my direction or not."

"Whatever. And Lilly, I know I've already pointed this out, but it doesn't happen everyday that a fan girl turns down the affections of one of the most famous professional wrestlers in the WWE, especially a veteran like him," continued Laurel.

I thought about it for a moment and she was certainly right about that. Had I been a different Lilly Hazel and not the one I had been the previous night, the one who had thought about the consequences of her actions and the one who put her reputation into consideration before going in for the kill, I would've been more than willing to submit to Adam's charms and let him brand me a ring rat for the rest of my life. Instead of grabbing a hold of my common sense and stopping his wandering hands all over my body, I would've succumbed to him carrying me to his bed and undressing me with his lips attached to my neck.

But no, I was a Lilly Hazel who didn't believe in one-night stands, who believed it wasn't worth boosting my own reputation from sleeping with a WWE Superstar for one night. I was the Lilly Hazel who turned down the affections of the man whose attention she caught at the club.

Now, however, I was immediately regretting the way I turned Adam down and the way I reacted towards his heartfelt apology towards me earlier. I felt like the biggest bitch in the world.

"Lilly, you have to call him again and tell him you forgive him! You can't just leave the poor guy brokenhearted!" Laurel continued to pester me.

I suddenly lost my temper. I had lost all control. I was now screaming at the top of my lungs and I was lashing out all of my anger and fury into words.

"I FUCKING MESSED UP, LAUREL! I PROVED TO BE JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER BITCHES ADAM RAN INTO AT ALL THE OTHER CLUBS HE'S VISITED!" I bellowed, grabbing her and shaking her vigorously, "NO CHANCE IN FUCKING HELL IS HE GOING TO EVEN THINK OF LETTING A LITTLE WHORE LIKE ME TALK TO HIM ANYMORE FROM THE WAY I SNAPPED AT HIM EARLIER! AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE I HAD TO FUCKING MESS UP AND MAKE HIM THINK I'M THE BIGGEST BITCH IN THE WORLD!"

Sinking down on my knees in defeat, I once again broke down into tears. I wanted the whole scene with Adam this morning to replay itself, so I could go back into it and change the way I treated him, forgiving him on the spot and leaving him satisfied instead of forcing him to leave empty-handed. I glanced down at my phone, which Adam had returned to me during our meeting, and winced. I had made a mistake indeed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the 6'5'' blond Canadian, better known as Edge onscreen, drives on the way to the arena with a lot occupied on his mind, one of these being the image of the most beautiful green-eyed redhead he'd ever encountered in his life.<p>

Never in his life had he ever so strongly about any girl he'd glanced more than once by ringside, not even some of the prettiest ladies fawning over him at clubs he frequently visited. No, for the first time, he was captivated by a girl who had been chatting casually with her friend at the bar, denying herself to be the object of his attentions.

Adam couldn't help but admit finding himself very attracted to Lilly. It wasn't just the fact that he was a sucker for green-eyed redheads. Yes, he was crazy about the fiery personality of auburn-haired beauties, but there was an additional spark to Lilly's that greatly caught his attention. He could go on to say that she was different from most girls, but he didn't dare describe her with the most typical distinctive trait that millions of men aside from himself have described the objects of their affections. Lilly was in a class all by herself.

As he subtly greeted fellow colleagues whom he passed on the way to his private locker room, Adam checked his phone every few seconds, anxiously waiting for the call. Lilly's call of forgiveness.

Adam reflected back on his last meeting with Lilly at her apartment. He recalled the anxiety he felt as he knocked on the apartment door, only to find whom he recognized as Lilly's friend from the club answering the door. Taking a step further into the room, the blonde called for her redheaded friend, and his heart leapt when he heard her shrill loudly from the room. He couldn't help but control himself; her voice was music to his ears. He immediately recognized his actions and quickly took a seat by the couch, as he requested an espresso and a particular redheaded beauty.

He remembered how his breath clinched in his throat when he saw the gorgeous Lilly Hazel step out from one of the bedrooms, dressed in nothing but denim shorts and a gray loose fit crop top that hung off of one shoulder and exposed her flat stomach and belly piercing. During that moment of silence, Adam's eyes reveled over Lilly's form. She wore the natural look well, especially with her signature auburn hair let down loose in soft beach waves and every single bit of makeup washed away from her youthful features. At that very moment, all Adam wanted to do was jump up from his seat, take her into his arms, and beg her for forgiveness like a broken lost lover. But he was forced to be patient with the sizzling hot-tempered Lilly, in order to carry out his plan.

Changing into his ring gear, Adam wondered for a moment if Lilly would be watching tonight's live RAW taping; he clearly remembered her clarifying herself as a fan of his for eleven years, never missing a single program or pay-per-view just to keep an eye out for him. This was the type of fan he liked, not the ones who jumped onto the bandwagon in the most recent years and cheered only for the faces. He silently prayed Lilly would call back soon, to tell him that all was said and done, to tell him that things were cool between them.

But she was just some fan, wasn't she? Why was he feeling this way about some pretty girl he happened to spot not once, not twice, but many more times than that after the show? He couldn't quite figure out what had happened to him since meeting Lilly. Since breaking up with Amy, he'd toyed around with several women, desperately seeking for a mate who could potentially show him how much he missed when he was out of love. So far, Lilly had been the only woman whom he'd actually taken an interest in, not simply because she was stunning. She was the very first woman who turned him down, and while he was shocked, he was extremely intrigued. He was curious to know what made her stand out amongst all the other women he'd put the moves on in the past.

"Hey man, you've been awfully quiet since _Backlash_," Randy Orton said to him at catering, "what happened?"

Adam ignored him and fetched himself a cup of water.

"You can't keep this quiet forever, Adam," said Randy softly, "Jay told me it had something to do with that gorgeous redhead you couldn't keep your eyes off of at the club we hit that night."

_Hell, Lilly Hazel, __**gorgeous**__? She's the most fucking gorgeous woman in the world_, Adam corrected in his thoughts.

"Do I have to go over this all over again?" Adam sighed irritably.

"Don't need to, Copeland. Reso told me already," assured his former tag team partner, "so you're really into this Lilly girl because she rejected your sleazy advances?"

"She fucking left me, Orton, end of story," growled Adam.

"You don't sound like you're that into her, Adam," said Randy, "Jay told me what happened, but I want to hear your side of the story."

"I saw her at ringside before my match and I first thought she was just one of those pretty little fan girls, but then I saw her again at the club later that night," explained Adam, "I bought her a drink, which isn't something that happens everyday, just so you know, but she ended up choking on it and I took her back to the hotel so she could rest up and head back home, but one thing led to another, and the next I realized, she was pushing me off of her and said she wasn't going to let me brand her another ring rat like I've done with so many other girls before her."

"What makes her special to you, then? Isn't she just some fan?" inquired Randy. Adam shot him a glare.

"She's not some fucking fan, Orton," snapped Adam. His expression calmed as the image of the beautiful Lilly once again entered his thoughts. "There's something about her, a certain spark about her that just grabs my attention. True, she's incredibly beautiful, but there's more to her that I'm curious about. I think I may actually have a thing for her, Orton. I don't think I've ever felt this way about any woman since Amy."

Randy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. This was something he'd completely unexpected from his good friend: falling for a fan girl he hardly knew and after meeting for one night that turned out sour. He was puzzled at what Adam was so interested about in this Lilly girl, but she must be something rather exceptional in his friend's eyes.

"Maybe you should show her how sincere you truly are about your apology," suggested Randy.

"I did, I drove all the way to her apartment and made a sappy apology to her, but she's hard to get," replied Adam.

"Then do something besides parking your ass in her house and expecting her to forgive you on the spot," said Randy, "send her a card or a gift or something. Just do something to make her remember you in a good way."


	7. Flowers

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Flowers<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Finally, another update!<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Why the hell am I making a big deal out of some pretty fan?<em> Adam continued to debate in his head, as he approached the florist, his wallet itching to spurt out a credit card to make a purchase, _it's not like she's going to actually care about me anyway. They're all like that anyway, those stupid brainless whores, thinking they're going to get something out of hooking up with me_.

_But no,_ he suddenly remembered, _Lilly wasn't like the rest of the women I've encountered before. For one thing, she actually had the brains to turn me down when I tried to put the moves on her. _

It didn't happen everyday that a beautiful fan girl like Lilly would spurn the affections of a good-looking man like Adam Copeland himself. He liked that she had beauty _and_ brains, but something else, something he couldn't quite figure it out about Lilly, just drew him to her. He couldn't put it together in a few words, but he was attracted to that one peculiar thing about her, and that one peculiar thing about her caused him to make a spectacular purchase for the gorgeous redhead he'd encountered nights ago back in Providence, Rhode Island.

"That's quite a tall order, but I have to say, sir, you have quite the taste," commented the salesman, carefully counting the stalks and jotting them down onto an order form, "would you like a card to go with it?"

"Yes, please," said Adam, as the man handed him a piece of paper where he could write down the messages, "I'd like them delivered to that address, and if possible, could you deliver the smaller one to the second address I placed?"

"Not a problem, sir," replied the salesman, "any time during the day?"

"As quickly as possible, whenever you can," confirmed Adam.

"_Lilly Hazel_…" the salesman read the name of the recipient, "that gal's a lucky little lady for a guy like you to give her that many flowers. She must be something special."

"She is," agrees Adam with a smile.

* * *

><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

Squinting my eyes sharply, focused on that one section zoomed in on the monitor, my fingers typed away at the keyboard, my hand darting back and forth between the mouse and the keyboard, fixing that little spot on my AutoCad version of the blueprint for a tech-savvy house. I was just putting together the final bits of my portfolio, required to graduate from the two-year architecture program in RISD, one of these projects in my portfolio being a house I designed myself over six months ago, and six months after the completion of the blueprint on paper, not only had I done the physical model, but I was just putting together the finishing touches on AutoCad and Google Sketch-up.

Being an architect is a heck of a lot of work, especially for someone like me who's not the best at time management. In addition to my urban architecture studies, I'm also heavily involved with the rock band scene, playing the guitar in a quartet band I formed with Brian, Connor, and Torrey back when I first met them in my freshman year at RISD. Often we would play gigs at local coffee houses and bars, and we competed in several battle of the bands contests, coming in as the 1st runner-up at the last one in Tampa last summer.

_I just need to save the files as PDFs and then I can move on to my Google Sketch-up,_ I thought gleefully. I was in a rather good mood at that moment, for I had gone on uninterrupted for almost two hours of touching-up my final product on AutoCad blueprint. I leaned back in my chair, watching others around me rushing to finish theirs, trying to hide my proud smirk, wondering how far behind everyone else, including Kayla, was in their final projects.

Sliding to unlock my phone, my heart sank when the familiar tune of 'Metalingus' by Alter Bridge came blasting into my ears. Somehow, though I had tried to put the incident with Adam behind in my past, it always seemed to come back and haunt me in every single way possible.

In the days after _Backlash_, I would hear people in the hallways chatting amicably about their experiences at the pay-per-view. Guys got excited over how Cena got owned in the main event, while the minority of female wrestling fans would gush over how hot the wrestlers looked in real life.

I, on the other hand, wished they would shut up, because it was that night when my view of professional wrestlers, particularly Adam, changed drastically. It was after that night, I realized how much of a bitch I was when I snapped at Adam, who actually sacrificed his free time to drive all the way to my apartment and not only return my phone back, but offer a heartfelt apology as well. And I didn't forgive him on the spot because I was a cold-hearted bitch.

It was unlikely that Adam would still expect me to call him back at this point. By then, he would think of me as the exact same thing I was calling myself: a cold-hearted bitch.

But then I thought again, why would Adam be so interested in some random fan like me? I wasn't anything special; to him, I was probably some pretty girl he happened to spot by the bar with her friend. I'm just an ordinary girl from Toronto who's studying in Rhode Island for her graduate's degree in urban architecture. Like hundreds, or possibly thousands, before me, I was possibly just someone he wouldn't bother over after one or two nights.

_By now, he would've forgotten all about me. After all, I can't expect him to remember me after one night. Besides, even if I did call him, he'd go, 'Who is this and how the fuck did you get my number, woman?' _I reflected.

I snapped out of my thoughts and glanced up from my monitor when I vaguely heard my name being called. Pulling off my Skullcandy headphones, I caught the sight of a deliveryman approaching me with a clipboard in one hand and a gorgeous pink and purple bouquet of flowers in the other. Everyone around me gasped in awe as my cheeks reddened; I hated being the center of attention.

"Miss Lilly Hazel? These are for you," said the man, handing the flowers to a speechless me. All the girls in the room squealed excitedly while all the boys whispered amongst themselves.

"Oh my God…" My jaw dropped in shock, "who…who are these from?"

"Oh yes, from your admirer," he handed me a blue envelope with my name written in calligraphy. I signed the form and he left without another word before I could inquire about my 'admirer'.

"Oh my God, Lilly!" exclaimed Kayla, scooting over to my side and peering over my shoulder, "who's that from?"

"I'll open it up later, so can you guys please get the fuck off of me and leave me alone to read it?" I snapped at the rest of the girls who had rushed over to my corner.

As soon as class had been dismissed, I quickly retreated to the student lounge, where I was surprised to find Laurel and Kayla waiting for me over by the couches.

"Lillian Murphy Hazel, you shall show me that envelope or I'll make you give it to me," demanded Laurel, her perfectly manicured nails jabbing at the unopened blue envelope in my hands along with the flowers.

"It's for me so I'm opening it, Laurel, and if you call me by my full name again I'll smack you with my guitar," I said quickly, settling myself in between Laurel and Kayla before carefully ripping open the envelope. I recited the message softly, and the more I read, the more surprised I grew:

_Dear Lilly,_

_ I know you may not end up talking to me ever again even after receiving this little gift, but I just want to let you know that I'll be waiting for your call, no matter what you think of me now. I sent you this beautiful bouquet of lilies because I wanted to show you how truly sincere I am about my apology. But if you decide that you don't ever want me to communicate with you in any other form again, I promise you that I'll leave you alone and I won't bother you or your friends again._

_Love, _

_Adam._

My eyebrows shot up as I read the final words 'Love, Adam'. Now I felt guiltier than before. Adam was genuinely an incredibly sweet guy, and from the way I had bitched at him that day, I wanted to kill myself at that very moment.

But then again, I felt he was going a little overboard. After all, I was just some fan, wasn't I? Why would he have the heart to do something so sweet for some random pretty fan like me?

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I jumped in my seat when I heard Laurel literally screeching in my ear. "OHMYGOD OHMYGOD OHMYGOD!"

"I KNOW, RIGHT?" Kayla chimed in, as she and Laurel began hugging each other and jumping excitedly on the spot, squealing in delight.

"WHAT?" I yelled irritably, interrupting their celebration. Both blondes turned to me and looked at me as though I was crazy.

"Why aren't you excited, Lil? _THE_ Adam Copeland sent you a love letter!" exclaimed Kayla, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me vigorously.

"It's not a fucking love letter!" I blurted, even though at this point my cheeks were the same shade as my hair.

"Of course it is," said Laurel, "after all, Edge doesn't write his fans love letters on a daily basis."

"Please," I scoffed, "I bet this is all some sort of joke that Brian or Connor decided to play on me. Or maybe it's Torrey who's trying to pose as Adam and make me finally fall in love with him one day."

"Okay, maybe it could be Torrey, but Torrey's a stickler for money, and he would never by anything this expensive," said Kayla, pointing out the price tag that read '$89.99', which Adam had supposedly forgotten to take off from the ribbon.

"See, Lilly?" pestered Laurel, "you just need to realize how much of a hottie you are, attracting all these boys, particularly a very hot WWE Superstar."

"Shut up," I snapped, blushing harder, "lots of pretty girls get pranked too, you know." I stood up and left the student lounge to return to my apartment, for this was the most peculiar day I had ever experienced.

_Why would Adam spend this much money on some nobody like me?_ I pondered, as I hopped into my car and drove to my apartment located off-campus, _more importantly, how the fuck is it possible that anyone wants someone's forgiveness so badly? I must be dreaming, because I highly doubt Adam would feel this bad over one night that could have been like all the other women he's seduced in the past. Maybe after all this, he'll forget me and I'll eventually return to my normal, everyday life, where I'm finishing up my graduate degrees in RISD and finding a company to employ for to get a job. _

However, little did I expect, my life was just about to turn off-course from its eventless routine.

After parking my car and walking up the steps to my third-floor apartment, I caught the strong sickly sweet scent floating from underneath the front door of my room. Pinching my nose, I fumbled for my keys and opened the door, swearing under my breath, "God, I hope Laurel didn't spray her damn Chanel No. 5 all over the room again…"

"WHAT THE FUCK?" I exclaimed loudly upon the sight of my apartment, not resembling a single bit of how I'd left it earlier this morning.

I was surrounded by an endless number of flower bouquets, each one of different arrangement, color, size, and floral selection. From roses to daisies to even carnations, my apartment had literally transformed into the botanic gardens. Each bouquet bore different small messages in intricate cursive letters printed on delicate white paper.

Tediously stepping over the bouquets to try not and squash any of the flowers, I sidestepped my way to my room and noticed a smaller arrangement of beautiful white lilies on my bed. There lay another envelope, this time in purple, with my name once again scrawled in fancy cursive letters.

_See? I told you I was sorry. Otherwise, I wouldn't go out of my way to prove to you how truly sorry I am,_ the small message inside the envelope read.

I softly laughed; I had been proven enough to know how sincere Adam was in his apology. I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor guy; it took a real man to spend this much money on flowers for a girl he hardly knew at all. Picking up the lilies, I flopped back onto my bed, playing with the petals with a goofy smile on my face. It was odd considering I was far from a girly girl and would most likely set them on fire, but at the moment, somehow, I was feeling lovesick for some stupid reason. It was time to give a certain Rated R Superstar a call and let him off the hook.

"_Hey, this is Adam. Sorry, I can't take your call at the moment, but leave a message and I'll be sure to call back."_

My lightened spirits sank upon hearing that voice message. Though I was well aware of Adam's busy schedule, I was disappointed that he hadn't been there when I wanted to give him the big news. Sighing, I walked back into the swamp of flowers in the apartment and flopped back onto the couch, daydreaming of what Adam would say or do as soon as I told him all was forgiven. Would he move on from the incident and leave me alone, or could it lead to something else between us?


	8. Surprise Visitor

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Surprise Visitor<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: The usual disclaimer of sadly not owning any of the hunky WWE Superstars out there…I do not own anyone except all original characters, including the beautiful redhead of Edge's attentions (in this story), Lilly Hazel. In this chapter you shall find out what she has to say to Adam through the phone…<strong>

* * *

><p>Two weeks had passed since Lilly's continuously failed attempts to call Adam back. She began to grow frustrated, despite being well aware of his busy traveling schedule. She knew from the beginning she wasn't to expect Adam to pick up the phone the first time she called him back, but fourteen days after her first failed try, she was beginning to grow frustrated.<p>

It was the midst of May and as a treat to herself for all the hard work that paid off in achieving her graduate's degree in architecture, Lilly returned back to Toronto by herself to visit family and friends. She hadn't even had time to fly home during the Christmas holidays, for she had been occupied with several reports and designs to work on as a part of her graduate degree studies. During the New Year's break she even had several gigs with Brian, Torrey and Connor, therefore this had been the first time she'd truly had a break.

For the first time in weeks, Lilly actually felt relaxed. The combined stress of RISD and the incident that had happened with Adam had been rather overwhelming, and flying back to Toronto was the biggest break she'd had in a long while. To add to her stress-free weekend, Connor had broken his right femur while motocross racing, canceling the remaining of their gigs until they could find a temporary replacement for him at the drums.

After dropping off her bags at her apartment near Rogers Center, Lilly decided to do a bit of shopping for herself and her family before joining them to watch the Blue Jays game versus the visiting Red Sox from Boston. Though she wasn't a huge baseball fan, it was for the sake of her baseball-obsessed mother, who seemed to have taken a liking towards Jose Bautista, acquired from Pittsburgh the previous year. Lilly rolled her eyes, recalling the last time her mother fawned over Bautista, mostly because she'd dined with him at a restaurant in Toronto.

Walking down the aisle of shops by herself, Lilly's eyes scanned every shop, looking for something that would catch her eye. The Hot Topic store that had once occupied the Forever 21 stores had moved to another tenant, so Lilly was in search of her favorite shop so she could buy herself a new pair of biker boots. Her eyes scanning the shop displays, she groaned silently when she noticed a poster advertising the WWE coming to Toronto for a house show, with a certain Rated R-Superstar gracing the poster.

Lilly sighed, the very thought of Adam Copeland crossing her mind. Toronto had been the perfect opportunity for her to get away from the stress and let her mind relax, but the very sight of that poster sent her thoughts crashing back down to Earth again. She had hoped to relieve her thoughts of the events that had occurred since _Backlash_, but her encounter with Adam had left an imprint within her memory, never to be erased again.

Spotting a Hot Topic store right next to a Zeller's, a pair of motorcycle boots caught Lilly's eye and she instantly stepped into the store whilst trying to wipe out every trace of her former wrestler crush from her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Adam had just stepped through the automatic doors of the main entrance of the mall, for he too had flown back to Toronto for a break.

Adam had been so caught up with work he'd nearly forgotten about the beautiful Lilly Hazel back in Rhode Island, where he'd showered her with gifts in the form of a thousand dollars' worth of flowers and bouquets, through delivery of course; he was hugely upset when he had to leave Providence for Hartford, and in the process, accidentally dropped his phone in an elevator shaft, much to his frustration. That meant any hope of calling Lilly back or waiting for her call had gone down the drain.

Adam was infuriated at himself, so infuriated he nearly vented out his frustrations on his fellow colleagues. He had been usually quiet and distant since leaving Hartford; the only thing that occupied his mind wherever he went was Lilly. After two weeks of keeping his frustration locked up within his mind, he decided he needed a few days off to clear his mind of the stress and return back to Toronto for what he referred to as 'soul-searching', when asking Vince for a week off from work. Thankfully, his boss of more than a decade had sympathized with his situation and let his mind relieve of the overwhelming stress taking over his life.

After the dreaded incident where his phone had been lost forever, Adam had no other way of contacting Lilly, for he'd stored her number and address in the very same phone he'd tragically lost. Though he still vaguely remembered the apartment she lived at in Providence, he had no phone number or contact to send her any message whatsoever, leaving him no other method to contact her.

Adam was on his way to the supermarket to pick up some groceries when he walked past a Hot Topic store and a head of flaming red hair caught his eye. _Could it be?_ He thought, stopping on his tracks and taking a second look, his breath suddenly caught in his throat when the redhead turned around so that Adam had a side view of her face.

The lovely Lilly was in Toronto.

Adam couldn't believe his luck. He had no method of keeping in touch with Lilly, and it was when he'd decided to retreat back to Toronto for a rest when he finally saw her in person. He'd never thought he'd find her anywhere else but in Rhode Island. Deciding to take the opportunity (hence his onscreen nickname, the Ultimate Opportunist), Adam made a beeline for the Hot Topic store.

As he walked towards the nearly pitch-black store, Adam watched every one of Lilly's actions. She appeared to be trying on a pair of motorcycle boots, which he most definitely liked on a pair of shapely legs like Lilly's. He watched her beautiful auburn hair cascading down one side of her shoulders in perfect, natural waves, its flaming red blazing and glowing amongst the sea of blacks and grays of the store. But Adam controlled himself by snapping out of his wandering thoughts, reminding himself the purpose of his mission to Hot Topic, a place he usually never visited.

Satisfied with the comfortable fit of the boots, Lilly stepped out of the pair of black and leather and fumbled for her wallet in her bag, ready to pay up for her purchase, but she noticed the store clerk's attention was fixed on something else. Frowning, she tried calling him, but still no response from him. Curious at what had caught his incredulous attention, Lilly turned in the same direction the store clerk was staring at and she nearly had a fright.

The very last person she'd expected to run into was standing right there at the entrance of Hot Topic, unaccompanied by his usual posse of wrestler friends.

Lilly was undoubtedly stunned. She hadn't expected to run into Adam again, least of all in Toronto at the very same time she was visiting her hometown. The very thought of their night that went sour, his personal, heartfelt apology, and the gift he gave her in the form of a thousand dollars' worth of flowers brought a familiar pang of guilt to her once again. She wanted to hide from him and forget everything that had ever happened between them, believing that he would simply move on anyway. But his presence told her that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Hey," Adam said softly, when Lilly had walked up to him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Lilly curiously, "shouldn't be with the WWE?"

"I'm taking a break for the week, so I flew back to Toronto," explained Adam, "had a lot on my mind and I just had to take a couple days off to clear my mind of things."

"What sorts of things?"

"What happened between us that night." Lilly shuddered, remembering his arms around her waist and his hot breath on her neck. "I want us to talk about it. Please. It's been two weeks and I can't stand ignoring it any longer."

"Why didn't you call?" asked Lilly, restraining herself from getting angry at Adam again. She couldn't take it out on the poor guy again. "I've called and called and you never called or texted back."

"That's my fault," replied Adam, "I dropped my phone in an elevator shaft because I was a clumsy dick."

Lilly was feeling even more burden from the guilt already weighing down on her back. "That explains it," she said softly, "I assume you were pissed."

"Hell I was fucking pissed," laughed Adam. Then he fell silent, noticing Lilly's subtle expression. There was a long silence between them, even when Lilly purchased her boots and agreed to join Adam for lunch.

"Adam…" Lilly broke the silence after they'd finished ordering their food, "Do you think I'm a bitch?"

Adam was extremely taken aback at that very question. In fact, he was livid at the fact that Lilly had insulted herself that way. He thought she was far from a bitch.

"Why put yourself down like that, Lilly?"

Lilly began to ramble, "Because of how I acted when you personally came over to my house to make a formal apology. Instead of feeling sorry for you and all that, I was bitchy and I kicked you out of my apartment! I mean, how could I even do that to you? And then you send me those flowers that I don't even deserve in the first place and I feel worse about myself than I've ever been…"

"Lilly…"

"And we almost landed up in bed together because I put myself out for show in that skanky dress, which goes to show that I'm a bitch _and_ a slut! Adam, if you think you're going to waste your time and money on some whore like me, then you've obviously lost your…"

"Lilly! Stop!" Adam hushed her, literally shutting her up by clamping his hand over her lips. "I don't think of you as those things at all."

"B-b-but why?" stuttered Lilly, when he removed his palm from her mouth, "I'm just some fan to you, aren't I?"

"No," insisted Adam, "I think you're special, Lilly, and that's why I gave you those flowers. I don't give fans flowers, just so you know."

"Adam…honestly…I don't think I can ever thank you enough for sending me all those flowers," murmured Lilly, not knowing what else to say.

"I think you deserve them, Lilly, don't deny it any further," assured Adam, taking her hand in his. He felt her shiver slightly under his warm touch and he smiled softly, liking this soft, vulnerable side of the fiery redhead. "I wanted to make it up to you for everything that happened between us that night." He watched her slowly meet his gaze, loving the way her cheeks flushed a brilliant pink and her eyes of jade wide and glowing. Her pink, pouty lips formed a small smile, yet it made his heart melt.

"Adam, I think everything you did—personally coming down to my apartment and apologizing and even sending me a thousand dollars' worth of flowers—was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me," said Lilly, squeezing Adam's hand, "I think I've made you suffer enough," she giggled, indicating all was forgiven and things were cool between them.

"The suffering was worth it," chuckled Adam, "so are we cool now?"

"Of course," agreed Lilly, smiling sweetly at him, something extraordinarily rare for the pessimistic Lilly.

"Lilly, I think after everything we've gone through, it's not worth throwing it all away and going our separate ways," said Adam, "I think we should get to know each other better and stay in touch, if that's alright with you."

The crazy Edge fangirl that Lilly shoved aside temporarily had returned. The auburn-haired, green-eyed girl wanted to squeal in delight. She had actually found a new friend in none other than the man she'd fan-worshipped for more than a decade and still counting.

"It's perfectly fine."


	9. Start of Something New

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: Start of Something New<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I do not own any recognizable names from the WWE, sadly…<strong>

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

I could hardly believe what had just happened within the last twenty-four hours. It all started with any other casual day in my hometown of Toronto, when I decided to head to the mall to get a new pair of boots. Little did I realize, that single trip to the mall wasn't just any ordinary day of the life of Lilly Hazel.

For a while I'd nearly forgotten about the situation between Adam and I. I'd initially decided to forget about what had happened that night with Adam when I first met him in person, until I ran into him at the mall.

He was the very last person I expected to see in Toronto, momentarily forgetting that he, too, was a native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. But shouldn't he have been traveling somewhere with the WWE, anywhere but the same place I was going to be? Chances of running into a WWE Superstar in the streets of Canada were much less than meeting them in public in the United States of America. I was quite sure the WWE was supposed to be somewhere in the Midwest or South, so what was Adam doing all the way up north in Toronto?

Initially the conversation between him and I was awkward. But when he proposed that we stayed friends, the inner fan girl had suddenly been brought back to life, and the next thing I realized, I was trying to restrain myself from jumping into his arms and giving him the biggest hug I could give anyone.

This easily could've been one of the biggest wake-up calls of my life. I was now officially acquainted with one of the most famous professional wrestlers in the business. I was actually friends with a WWE veteran of more than a decade. Had I been some other random fan girl, I would've taken advantage of this friendship and used Adam as my one-way ticket to meeting all the other hunky WWE Superstars. But no, I was Lilly Hazel, and Lilly Hazel does not take advantage of people.

Later, after that encounter at the Hot Topic store, Adam invited me for lunch, and of course I couldn't turn down his invitation; after all, he _is_ one of the most famous people from Toronto. I could feel the stares of passers-by locked on Adam and I as we dined at Gallardo's, the newest Italian café that apparently just opened up a few weeks ago. Many people often stopped in their tracks to take a second look at Adam, some of them instantly recognizing Adam and jumping up and down excitedly, pointing at him. I couldn't help but smile when an eight-year-old wearing a John Cena shirt instantly recognized Edge and stuck out his tongue at him, the mother of the eight-year-old smiling at Adam and I sweetly.

"So Lilly," Adam began after we'd ordered our food, "what brings you to Toronto?"

"I've been so busy with making the finishing touches of my blueprints, models, and drawings for the past five years, and since I was done with my final portfolio for graduation, I decided to give myself a treat and fly back to Toronto," I explained, "oh, and because I haven't been back home for a while?"

"You're Canadian?" Adam was surprised, "I didn't know that."

"Just like you, I'm a Toronto native," I said.

"You support any teams? Blue Jays? Maple Leafs?" Adam named a few sports teams from Toronto.

"Nope, I was too busy being Team WWE," I laughed, "I was the type who preferred watching guys on television getting beat up and driven through tables instead of going to see baseball players hitting home runs at Rogers Center."

"Well it's nice to hear something different from a girl like you, Lilly," said Adam with a smile, "I don't meet too many girls who prefer wrestling over baseball."

"Yeah, I'm far from a girly girl," I admitted, "in case you didn't notice, I was at Hot Topic instead of Victoria's Secret."

"I can still imagine you getting something from Victoria's Secret, babe," Adam joked cheekily, smirking at me and giving me a wink.

"Adam!" I exclaimed, my jaw dropping in shock.

"I'm just kidding!" Adam held his hands up, "you'll have to get used to my jokes, Lilly Pad; they say I'm the one with the most sarcasm in the locker rooms."

"That's not surprising to hear from you, after all, you are Edge," I pointed out.

"But I'm nothing like the character I portray on TV, Lilly," said Adam.

"I know you are, but I can tell you like to slip in some of that Edge cockiness and arrogance into your words," I remarked, "I've watched you for eleven years, Adam. You don't think I know you any better."

"Stalker," joked Adam.

"You could say that," I laughed, just as our food arrived, "I could tell you all about the collection I have of you back in my apartment in Toronto and the giant poster I have on my ceiling in the one I'm staying in in Providence."

"Now I'm scared," Adam pretended to be freaked out.

"Oh, I haven't mentioned the time when I dressed up as you for Halloween in sophomore year," I said, grinning at him cheekily.

"Okay, now you're freaking me out." I was trying not to burst into hysterical giggles at Adam's priceless expression.

"That's what you get for asking some girl who's been a fan of yours for over a decade for lunch," I giggled.

"You mean I'm going to have to deal with you for a week?" Adam pretended to stab himself in the heart and faked his death, while I couldn't stop laughing hysterically to the point where people were now staring at Adam and I.

"People are going to think we're crazy," I choked on my breath.

"They already think you're crazy, Lilly," Adam smirked, "as for me, well they're all used to this."

Our lunch conversation had perhaps been the most entertaining one I've had with anyone in a long time. Adam was funny, sweet, sarcastic, and sometimes witty, something I never expected to see out of the persona he puts on as Edge. What surprised me even more, though, was how comfortable I felt with him, as though he were an old friend of mine and not a famous WWE Superstar. Never had I imagined in my life that I would ever come close to an encounter with Adam Copeland, but today, I could laugh at my fifteen-year-old self for thinking that he was a living god.

He was just an ordinary person just like everyone else. Sure, he was exceptional because of his celebrity status, but other than that, he was human, just like myself and the rest of the non-celebrity population of the world.

Later that day, Adam decided to take me along to the gym. Well, of course he would go to the gym, he's a wrestler after all, but what gave him the idea of taking someone like _me_ along? I honestly wasn't much of an athlete, though I'm proud to announce that I can lift just barely ten pounds. I ended up tagging along with him, but not before canceling on my parents, who were absolutely thrilled that I'd found a date for the first time in years:

"_Oh, don't worry, Lillian, go ahead and spend time with that handsome man you met," my mother said happily over the phone, "it's just that you never talk to me about boys and Lauren's occupied with her husband at the moment and doesn't have time to spend with me."_

"I don't think this is a good idea, Adam," I said nervously to a grinning Adam, glancing around the massive room filled with bodybuilders of various sizes. _Okay, I was definitely out of shape,_ I thought, observing a man twice as big as Adam lifting 300 pound dumbbells.

"Don't think about it so much, Lilly," Adam assured me, though I could tell he was trying not to laugh at me, "just don't let them bother you."

"I think you'll have an idea of how I feel right now when you're the only female in this entire gym," I pointed out, "besides, I haven't been to the gym in years."

"Just think about how the Divas feel, Lilly."

"Well I'm not very good looking, Adam, there's a difference," I argued.

"You are very good-looking, Lilly, to tell you the truth," he murmured.

"What did you say?" I asked him skeptically.

"Nothing," said Adam quickly, though I continued to eye him with a raised eyebrow.

* * *

><p>Adam could hardly believe the jade-eyed redhead when she admitted she hadn't been to the gym in years. When she stepped out of the female changing rooms with a tank top and tight black capris, he practically had to pick his jaw up from the ground. She wasn't toned and muscled like the Divas he hung out with, nor did she have the ideal C-cups Kelly Kelly proudly flaunted, but she had a slim waist, firm thighs, shapely legs and from what he could see through her pants, a nice, round behind.<p>

Lilly walked out of the locker rooms nervously, holding her sports towel, water bottle, and iPhone protectively close to her body. Quickly tying her fiery, flowing locks into a ponytail, she noticed Adam was staring at her and she blushed.

"What?" she asked him, snapping her fellow Canadian out of his thoughts.

"Oh, er, nothing…" Adam was surprised to find his voice croaking slightly. He followed her as she sauntered over towards the vacant treadmills, glaring around jealously at the bodybuilders who had stopped and turned to stare at the beautiful Lilly. Though he had the secret urge to beat the holy hell out of them, even he couldn't see a reason not to check her out.

He accompanied her to the treadmills, helping her get set up before leaving her so he could start his weight training regime. One of the sweat-covered bodybuilders next to him nudged him eagerly, grinning at him.

"Hey dude, the redhead's your girlfriend, eh?" said the man, putting down his 200lb barbells and wiping the sweat off of his body with a towel, all while staring at Lilly, who was jogging on the treadmill and—fortunately—had her headphones on.

"No," replied Adam, "she's not my girlfriend."

"Didn't think so," said the man, taking a quick sip of water, "she looks a little young for you, don't you think?"

"She's a friend of mine," insisted Adam.

"Really?" said the man, raising his eyebrows, "I thought you might've picked her up from a club or something. Must've been some cute girl you decided to charm up."

"Don't go around saying things about her when you don't even know her personally," Adam threatened him, "you talk shit about her and you'll have to deal with me."

"Now you sound like her boyfriend," said the man, holding up his hands, "I'm not causing any trouble, Copeland. (Adam was well aware of his celebrity status in Toronto) I just wanted to say that if she's a fan, she'll most likely go after your celebrity status."

"Lilly isn't like that," said Adam angrily.

"You never know, Adam," the man grinned at him evilly, "women can be extremely deceiving."

Adam was in a rather foul mood as he worked out, pumping his biceps while glaring nastily at the man who decided to take a jab at Lilly. "What's up with you?" Lilly asked curiously when they both stepped out of the gym and headed towards her apartment, "you've been rather moody."

"It's nothing," lied Adam, for he didn't want to hurt Lilly's feelings again by telling her about the man who indirectly called her a hooker.

"Then why the sour face?" Lilly asked again.

"Just didn't get the good workout that I expected. There's a lot on my mind, I guess," said Adam, stopping at a red light.

"I won't disturb you if you'd like," Lilly suggested.

"No, it's fine," Adam insisted, "why don't we hang out for a bit? Like watch a movie or the Blue Jays or something," he suggested, grinning at her. Lilly smiled. She liked this cheerful, relaxed side of Adam.

"I thought you were into hockey," laughed Lilly, "aren't Canadians all into hockey?"

"I don't mind watching a Blue Jays game once in a while, Lilly," said Adam, shrugging, "but whatever you want to do next, it's up to you."

Lilly ended up deciding on inviting Adam over for dinner, ordering takeout and watching rental DVDs at her apartment. That very night, long after Adam had bid her goodnight and drove home, Lilly was lying in bed, reflecting on everything that had happened within more than half of her day. What started off as a typical day by herself in a mall in Toronto ended with watching _Fight Club_ with Adam Copeland and pigging out on takeout pizza in her living room. To be fully honest, Lilly hadn't expected her day to be like this at all, but she learned something from her outing with one of the most famous professional wrestlers on the planet.

Adam Copeland hadn't been looking to have sex with her the night they first met. Albeit rumors of his promiscuity and smooth ways with the ladies, he was really a laidback, overall cool guy with a great personality and a sweet demeanor. He never saw her as just a pretty female fan to begin with. In fact, Lilly was greatly surprised at the way Adam had been so relaxed around her, as though they had been friends for an extremely long time. Something told the stubborn, headstrong redhead that Adam wasn't looking to get laid with her the slightest bit. But the question that remained in Lilly's mind as she snuggled under the covers: _was she really more than just a fan to him?_


	10. Harmless Flirting

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: Harmless Flirting<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: As usual, as much as I hate to admit it, I only own the beautiful Lilly Hazel and other original characters mentioned.<strong>

**P.S. In case you guys are wondering how the heck anyone would drop their phone through an elevator shaft, it happened to my aunt once. Just saying**.

* * *

><p>Adam was up bright and early the next morning. Slapping his hair back into a ponytail, he dressed himself in a wife beater and track pants, took a quick bite of a protein bar and slipped on his running shoes. It was time for his daily morning run.<p>

He started out with a slow jog, gradually picking up a faster pace when the music blasting in his ears did the same. He was listening to a song by his good friend Chris Jericho's band, Fozzy, which so happened to be one of his favorite bands as well. He loved their music, and it wasn't just because the lead singer was one of his closest friends.

He smiled at the neighbors that greeted him with a cheery smile and wave, as he jogged past their houses. As he turned round the corner his thoughts reflected on the events that occurred three days ago. Adam couldn't help but let the dorky smile take over his lips, thinking about the beautiful redhead he spent the entire day with the day before.

Not only had everything been forgiven with things that once happened between them, but Adam had somehow acquired her as a new companion. Suddenly, all thoughts of permanently moving out of Toronto went flying out the window.

Coincidentally, just as the face of the lovely Lilly Hazel had occupied his mind, he'd caught sight of the real thing herself when he jogged through a small community park. Slouched back on a bench, was Lilly, her tousled crimson curls tied in a messy braid and a pair of oversized horn-rimmed spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose He smiled, watching her concentrated expression on her laptop screen, her green eyes glowing like jade from the backlight of the monitor. Deciding to surprise her, Adam slowly crept behind her and peered over her shoulder (she also had headphones on so she couldn't hear him either), raising his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed she was writing what appeared to be some sort of journal:

_May 30__th__, 2009_

_Toronto, Ontario, Canada_

_Haven't updated this for what feels like days. Finally, I get to make an update. _

_I've been back in my hometown of Toronto for a day now, and so far, a lot has been going on within that past day. Just three days ago I was at the mall when I ran into the very last person I expected there: Edge. _

_Yes, I'm talking about Edge, aka Adam Copeland. The same guy I've been crushing on since I was eleven. The same guy whom I mentioned in my last journal entry, the one who tried to seduce me after our first meeting at the bar after the pay-per-view. _

_But turns out he's not such a bad guy at all. In fact, he's nothing like his character at all. He's cute, funny, sweet, and sarcastic, and I do mean the good kind of sarcastic. Amazingly, after spending the past few days with him with him, having lunch, going shopping, and even working out in his gym, I can prove to all the bandwagon trolls that Adam is the best guy friend you could ever ask for, and to all the female fans who think he's a god. In real life, he's really…_

"Did you really think I was oblivious to you standing behind me all this time?" Lilly's voice boomed in his head, snapping Adam out of his thoughts and giving him quite a fright.

Adam blinked twice before he found Lilly staring at him peculiarly with one eyebrow raised. Shyly, he couldn't seem to find an explanation for his attempt to sneak up on her. "I wanted to surprise you from behind, but I got a bit…er…distracted," stuttered Adam. Lilly chuckled softly.

"So I guess you've read everything I've been typing out on my journal?" chuckled Lilly softly, "no worries, I haven't gotten to the good parts yet." She closed her laptop shut before Adam could read the next line.

"Awww," Adam pretended to groan. He hopped over the bench and sat down next to Lilly, who giggled softly at his actions. "So what'cha doing out here typing away in the middle of a public park?" Adam inquired her, "won't you get distracted by all the dogs nipping at your heels and the little three-year-olds trying to see what you're doing?"

"Well, I wanted to get some fresh air," said Lilly, "plus I haven't been to this park in a while. I remember right in front of me, there used to be a playground where my parents would bring my sister and I to play in when we were kids."

"What happened to it?" asked Adam.

"It was thanks to some kid in the neighborhood who claimed that he'd broken his femur from a swing he alleged was faulty, and since they didn't have enough money to repair it, they just got rid of it altogether. It's stupid, really, but I still like to come here and sit on this bench, where my mom and dad would wait for us before bringing us home."

"That's cute," replied Adam, "but I've never heard you mention a sister at all in the past few days."

"That's because I never liked her."

"Why not?"

"She always made me feel like I was no good," explained Lilly, "she was three years younger than me so she and I always fought. We basically fought about everything, but I was the one who got in trouble because she'd put all the blame on me and my parents would scold me since I was the older child. Not to mention she was the one everyone praised whenever family and friends came over for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Some life, I had, huh?" Her voice grew shakier, "Everyone said she was prettier than me, smarter than me, just better than me at everything. And guess what? While I'm here in Toronto waiting to get my bachelor's in architecture and making money off of band gigs and French tutoring, she's married to some hockey player in the NHL and living the life of a trophy wife, hosting parties and buying all the stuff she made off of her husband."

_It's no wonder she's so critical of herself,_ thought Adam, _the poor girl always getting overshadowed by her little sister. _

"Hey," Adam said softly, wrapping his arms around her as he let the redhead bury her face in his shoulder and calm down, "don't think your life isn't perfect because of her, Lil. I've got friends who are like that and they're not the happiest people in the world. You, on the other hand, are living the life that everyone should live. You're a work horse, Lil; you showed me your sketches and drawings for your degree, and I remember having to work odd jobs at your age just to make a living until I joined the wrestling business. Everyone goes through this phase, Lilly."

"Yeah, I know," mumbled Lilly, "it's so frustrating, though."

"Don't worry," assured Adam, "maybe you could join the WWE and be a Diva," he suggested.

"Nah, I'm too ugly and fat," said Lilly immediately, though she couldn't hide the creeping blush on her slightly freckled skin.

Adam completely disagreed with this. Her 5'6'' frame was slender and willowy, and hell he wanted to punch her in the face for daring to call herself ugly. She was far from hideous in his eyes; her loose, crimson curls and jade green eyes said the opposite.

"Don't say that, Lil, I think you're fine just the way you are," he assured her, though she shook her head again.

"You don't have to be nice, Adam," said Lilly humbly, "I mean, we've only known each other for a few days…"

"It doesn't matter how long we've been friends, Lilly, I just want to let you know that you shouldn't be so self-critical," said Adam, "and by the way, in case you forgot, I'm the Rated R Superstar," he whispered in her ear with a smirk.

In the past three days, Lilly had entirely forgotten that Adam was a world famous WWE Superstar. Because she had been used to being around him so casually, she'd completely disregarded the fact that thousands of women across the world could be watching her with seething green eyes of jealousy and disdain. But despite being a huge fan of wrestling, Lilly was surprised at how she'd managed to score a friendship with Adam Copeland and not squeal it to the rest of the world to hear.

"These past three days didn't feel like I was hanging out with a WWE Superstar, though," admitted Lilly.

"That's because I'm a normal, everyday person, just like you," said Adam, "hey, how about you join me for lunch later? I'm actually meeting up with Jase, Randy, and some of the other boys."

Lilly's inner fan girl had suddenly come back. "You mean Christian, Randy Orton, and other WWE Superstars?" she asked excitedly.

"Yup," Adam chuckled at Lilly's excitement, "but don't get too excited or I may un-invite you to the meet and greet."

"I'll just see them as regular people," giggled Lilly. But even later that day, as she saw Randy Orton, Jason 'Christian' Reso, John Cena, and Trish Stratus seated at a table waiting for them, she couldn't help but let out a squeal of excitement.

"You sure she's not some random fan girl you picked up, Ad?" Randy chuckled in a deep, sexy voice that made every single nerve in Lilly's body freeze. No wonder Laurel was crazy for the tattooed Viper; his piercing blue eyes, his massive, muscled arms covered in a network of tattoos, and his deep, sexy drawl was utterly irresistible. Lilly found herself rambling as she introduced herself to all four Superstars whose eyes were on her.

"Nope, her name's Lilly, remember?" Adam reminded him.

"So you're the girl whom my boy's been talking about since _Backlash_," said Jason, or as he preferred to be referred as, Jay, "it's great to meet you, Lilly."

"You're the girl Adam bought that drink for," said John Cena, instantly recognizing her as the girl at the club back in Providence. He was with Adam's group at the time Adam and Lilly first met, "I don't blame him, though. You're a pretty girl, after all." Although Lilly resented his family-friendly gimmick, she couldn't help but admit that John was a sweetheart in person.

"I absolutely love your sense of fashion, Lilly," said Trish. The last time Lilly remembered, Trish was a blonde, but her trademark tresses were now dyed a rich chocolate brown, "I especially love your hair." Her hazel eyes traced over the way Lilly's blazing red waves were loosely braided to the side and secured with a black bow. She also examined the oversized Slipknot shirt and military green capris with a pair of sneakers.

Lilly was flattered, "Thanks, Trish."

"Not at all, sweetheart," said Trish, "it doesn't happen every day that Adam talks about a fan girl for more than thirty seconds and then brings her to have lunch with us."

"Oh yeah, you can ask him about the thousands of girls he's charmed before you," joked Cena.

"Well he _is_ the Rated-R Superstar," Lilly pointed out.

"Makes sense to me," said Randy with a shrug. He nudged Adam eagerly, "Dude, where do you find chicks like these? All I get are screaming housewives and hormone-crazed teenaged girls."

"Gee, I wonder why," Lilly said flirtatiously, as she eyed Randy's tattoos with interest. Randy noticed this and rolled up his sleeves proudly, which made Adam roll his eyes sarcastically. Even for a loving husband and a devoted father, Randy was still part lady-killer.

After a while, Adam suddenly stood up from his table and announced he and Lilly needed to head off, pulling a confused and disappointed Lilly away from the table of famous WWE Superstars.

"It was great to meet you, Lilly," said Trish sweetly, giving Lilly a warm hug. Cena and Jay followed, and at that very moment, Lilly had the sudden urge to scream to the world about how she'd gotten hugs from Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Christian.

But perhaps what gave her the most chills was when Randy said goodbye to her.

"It was a pleasure to meet the beautiful, lovely Lilly," he cooed flirtatiously to the giggling redhead, taking her hand in his and prolonging a kiss to the back of her hand. He winked at her before releasing her hand. Even as Adam's arm wrapped protectively around her waist, Lilly couldn't help but turn her head back to see Randy smirking at her cheekily with that signature sexy smirk of his, guaranteed to make Laurel's (and now hers) panties drop within a heartbeat.

"What's up with you?" Lilly inquired Adam curiously, as they headed towards the supermarket to pick up a few groceries.

Adam murmured something under his breath that was incoherent.

"What did you say?" Lilly asked.

"Lilly, I'm sorry about Randy…" Adam began.

"Why?" Lilly was puzzled.

"I just…well…as you know, Randy is a notorious ladies' man…"

"I'm quite aware of that," Lilly couldn't help but blush, knowing how successful the Legend Killer had been in his lady-killer quest, "but why does it affect you?"

Again, Adam muttered something else that was inaudible.

"Adam, you can tell me," persuaded Lilly, tip-toeing to reach a packet of potato chips from the shelf.

"I don't like the way he was flirting with you," he managed to cough, his hand gripping the shopping basket into a fist.

"Adam, I was just playing along," assured Lilly, "okay sure, he managed to charm me with a few pick-up lines, but he's married and he has a kid. I'm not interested in a married man, no matter how good-looking he is. And besides," Lilly decided to play with her words for a bit, making her voice slightly lower and more seductive, "he doesn't have the long, blond hair that drove me wild for eleven years."

Now it was Adam's turn to hide his blush. This girl's cheekiness was just absolutely irresistible. She knew how to push his buttons, but at the same time, she knew every single exact compliment that brought out the Rated-R sleaze he played on television.

"Y'know, you're just irritating me right now," Adam looked at her peculiarly, but his heart skipped at the way her green eyes twinkled at him.

"You do realize I'm telling the truth, you know," she remarked, grabbing (to his amazement) three packets of the same beef jerky he craved for during his off-days. She walked ahead of him with her head held up high, strutting down the aisle in her sneakers. Letting out a low whistle, Adam followed her, as though being pulled by an invisible rope.


	11. The Only Exception

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: The Only Exception<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I hope y'all are enjoying the story so far!<strong>

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

I was absolutely starstruck at that moment, when Adam introduced me to four of his good friends and the top Superstars in the WWE at lunch. John Cena was, as many fan reports have said about him, was cool, cheeky, and laidback. Trish was just a sweetheart. Christian, also known as Jay Reso, had a witty sense of humor and a great personality. Randy, on the other hand, did not surprise me at all. I didn't think it was very appropriate for a married man to flirt with a girl close to his age like me, but I had to admit that Laurel had every right to be in love with that man. It took all of my strength to call up Laurel that day, brag to her about how Randy kissed my hand and all that, and then be all, "Suck it, bitch. I just met the man of your dreams."

But perhaps what was interesting was the way Adam suddenly kept quiet whenever Randy sweet-talked me or smirked at me with that sexy signature smirk, guaranteed to make every straight woman's panties fall to the ground. Maybe Adam didn't like the way Randy was talking to me, or he just thought it wasn't proper for Randy Orton, a married man with an adorable one-year-old at home, to flirt with a fan girl like me.

It didn't exactly help Adam either when Randy stopped by the next day at his house, where Adam initially invited me over, to invite me for lunch. I was initially unwilling to go until Randy mentioned that we weren't going to be alone, and that Adam was more than welcome to join us. I gave Randy a weak smile as Adam begrudgingly accepted the invitation to a seafood restaurant in the heart of the city.

"Adam? Are you alright?" I asked Adam for what was the thousandth time in two days, as I laced up my Dr. Martens boots. Adam hadn't been this quiet since that day at the restaurant when he introduced me to his friends.

"Lilly, I told you, I'm fine," he insisted again for what was the thousandth time as well.

"Do you like my outfit?" It was a question I never asked anyone, but at least it was something for Adam to clear his mind of whatever was bothering him.

Adam glanced up from his feet and examined what I was wearing: a black ribbed tank top underneath a gold striped sequined crop top, pleather tights, bright red Dr. Martens and a dark green military style jacket with a beaded shoulder cuff on one side. My hair had been let down in my natural, loose curls, and I wore earrings with big feathers and beads in them. He grinned at me and gave me a wink, that same wink he gave me that night when I first saw him at the club.

"You look sexy," said Adam flirtatiously, whistling as he squeezed my butt playfully. This made me blush furiously. At least I managed to change the subject.

"Um…thank you…" I mumbled. No one had ever called me sexy before, least of all a famous WWE Superstar.

"No need to thank me, Lilly Pad," he replied, still smirking at me.

"I thought we got over this whole nickname thing," I raised an eyebrow at him.

"So it's corny, but that's all I could come up with," admitted Adam, shrugging. I giggled.

"Well it's not as bad as calling you 'Edgie-poo' when I was sixteen," I confessed that affectionate pet name I'd given him when I was a crazy, hormonal teenager at the age of sixteen.

"Did you just say 'Edgie-poo'?" Adam suddenly burst into howling laughter, "man, and I thought I was horrible with nicknames."

"Hey! I was sixteen and undergoing puberty!" I exclaimed in protest.

"I've heard of fans who've proclaimed they're going to marry me in the future, but I have to say that your nickname is probably the weirdest thing I've ever heard from a fan," said Adam, ruffling my hair.

"I could go on about that love letter I wrote to you when I was eighteen," I added, "and I went into detail about our honeymoon, by the way."

"Don't need to hear it unless it involves mind blowing sex, babe," flirted Adam, who got up and started walking towards the garage. I followed him in suit.

"You'll never know," I giggled, "because you'll never read it." I hopped into the front seat of his convertible and we drove off to meet Randy. However, I noticed that Adam had taken the freeway instead of taking the turn towards downtown, where the restaurant was located.

"Adam? Where are we going? I thought we were supposed to meet Randy in town…" I began, noticing we weren't in the direction we were supposed to be going in.

"Actually, Lilly Pad, we're going to take a detour," answered Adam, exiting at a road that led to The Great Lakes, "I've decided that we're going to ditch Mr. Lady Killer and have our own lunch by ourselves."

"But what if he's expecting us?" I asked, puzzled, "he probably booked seats for us at the restaurant we're supposed to meet him in."

"Well, he did say that he had other company when he invited you to lunch," Adam pointed out.

I gaped at him, punching him lightly in the arm playfully. "You are horrible!" I gasped.

"I know I am, babe," remarked Adam, driving up to a very suburban area where not a single high-rise building was within sight. Along each side of the road was a row of little shops and restaurants. I rolled down the windows and inhaled the fresh air deep into my lungs. I had to admit, this was definitely better than driving downtown and dealing with the horrible traffic in the city.

"Adam, this is beautiful," I sighed, "I've never been here before."

"Told you it was better than meeting Randy for lunch in the city," Adam said with a smirk on his face.

"So which one of these little cafés are we going to visit?" I inquired, as we walked down the row of shops. Every shop sold various kinds of knick-knacks like handbags, jewelry, and hair accessories, giving me the temptation to stop by and buy whatever interested me. I felt his arm slither around my waist and I blushed.

"This one," said Adam, pointing to one called 'Dreamboat Annie', "and don't worry, we can always go shopping later." He added, grinning at me, as though he'd read my mind earlier.

The café was definitely the type of place I'd visit on a regular basis. As I could tell from the name, the owner was obviously a classic rock fan. Black and white framed photographs of famous figures such as Slash, Jimmy Page, and Janis Joplin adorned the walls, and the speakers blasted various hits from bands such as Heart, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. The furniture was quite similar to a Hard Rock Café style: lounge chairs with a pillow shaped like a guitar on each chair.

"Oh my God, Adam," I gasped, picking up the menu, silently giggling at the descriptions given to the menu items (eg. Under Fried Chicken Wings was a line from the song 'Back Door Man' by The Doors: I eat more chicken than any man ever seen), "How did you know about this place?"

"A good friend of mine owns it," he replied, just as a waiter with hair that could rival Jeff Hardy's walked up towards us.

"Oy, Adam! Great to see you again!" said the waiter excitedly in an Australian accent, as Adam stood up and gave him a fist pump followed by a chest bump. I smirked; this was exactly what Brian, Torrey, and Connor always did to me whenever we saw each other.

"Hayes! It's been a while," Adam greeted him back, "so how've things been going around here?"

"The usual; not too busy, but enough business to stay around here," replied the waiter named Hayes, "still getting lots of compliments about the hair."

"You look like you added some yellow to it," Adam eyed the thick yellow streak of hair that greatly resembled Jeff's, "trying to copy Hardy, eh?"

"I thought it would look pretty cool on me," replied Hayes. His eyes suddenly darted to me, a cheeky smirk forming on his face. "Speaking of which," said Hayes, eyeing me, "who's the pretty lady you've brought with you today?"

"Hayes, this is Lilly, she's a friend of mine," introduced Adam, "Lilly, this is my friend Hayes from college. He was a roommate of mine."

"She's a pretty little Lilly," said Hayes, who took my hand and kissed the back of it, not unlike the way Randy did whenever we greeted each other. From the corner of my eye, I saw Adam's jaw twitch slightly, "where you from, love?"

"Toronto," I replied, "and I believe you're from Australia?"

"The Gold Coast, love, you're good," said Hayes, smirking at me.

"I can see we have the same taste in music," I said, glancing at the décor around me, "I don't find too many cafés that are themed after rock and roll, aside from the Hard Rock Café, of course."

"Please, love, I'm better than the Hard Rock Café," chuckled Hayes, "I'll prove it to you once you try the organic steak sandwich."

"Hayes puts a little healthier side to his food, but the Hard Rock Café is just bar food," said Adam, "I do recommend the giant onion rings, though."

"Try it with our new spicy tomato dip," added Hayes.

"Okay, I'll have the steak sandwich you suggested and a side of onion rings," I laughed.

"I'll have the same," said Adam quickly. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You sure, Adam?" asked Hayes. He too was surprised, "You sure you don't want your usual of our signature chicken kiev burger and a side of sweet potato fries?"

"Nope," insisted Adam, "it's always good to try something new."

I couldn't stop smiling at Adam with endearment after Hayes had left to place our order. "Adam, this place is so perfect," I said dreamily. For some odd reason, I felt tingly and nervous inside as my eyes met his.

"I knew you'd like it, Lilly. After all, it's a hell lot better than that seafood restaurant Randy wanted to meet us at," said Adam, smirking mischievously and I laughed.

"Speaking of Randy, does he actually know that we've decided to ditch him?" I asked him, trying not to laugh at the possibility of Randy not knowing we were no-showing his invitation.

"Nope," said Adam quickly. At that very moment, Adam's cell began ringing and the caller ID was none other than Randy Orton's.

"Where the hell are you, man?" I struggled to fight the urge to burst into laughter upon hearing Randy's panicked voice (Adam had put his phone on speaker mode).

"Hey Randy, we've decided to ditch you at the last minute since we weren't in the mood for seafood," lied Adam, as he gave me a secret wink.

"You're fucking lying, Adam," Randy's response was quick, "where's Lilly?"

"She's in the bathroom at the moment, she can't speak to you right now," said Adam, as I tried not to give away my presence.

"Tell me the fucking truth, Copeland, I know she's there—" Adam had cut Randy off at that last sentence, and that was when I lost in and burst out into hysterical laughter.

"I can't believe you just hung up on Randy Orton," I choked on my breath, holding onto my stomach for dear life, "wait till I tell Laurel about this!"

"She'll be more than horrified to hear that you hung up on the man of her dreams," added Adam with a laugh.

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><p>Adam as he watched Lilly marveling at the setting of the restaurant around her, his heart swelling with pride at how he'd managed to impress her. When their food arrived and she was busy savoring the steak sandwich and onion rings, he excused himself to a trip to the bathroom. On his way back, however, he was surprised to find Hayes ushering him quickly into the back of the kitchen where there wasn't anyone else around.<p>

"What the hell is going on, Hayes?" Adam said irritably, wanting to get back to the table where his lovely Lilly sat so he could join her back and enjoy lunch together.

"Dude, are you fucking serious? You just brought some fan girl and let her tag along with you while you're taking a week off from work?" Hayes asked him suspiciously.

"She's not some fan girl, Hayes," said Adam, rather shocked at Hayes's behavior, "what the hell is making you act up like this?"

"Dude, I've never seen her before. You haven't mentioned her the last time you talked to me. She's obviously some fan girl trying to live off of your fame so she can feel better about herself," snapped Hayes, "I've told you about this type of girl, Adam. She's nothing but trouble."

"What the fuck made you think that, Hayes?" exclaimed Adam, "is it just because she's hot?"

"Okay, so she's hot, but I tell you, you can't just go around using women like this. And you can't let women like her do the same," warned Hayes.

Adam let out a sigh of frustration. Hayes was not the first person to get on his nerves about the same issue. "Why can't people just get off of my fucking back, about Lilly of all things? There's nothing wrong with her, and she's not looking to live off of my fame. You can't fucking assume that she only wants me because of my fame; you obviously don't know her at all."

"Oh, please, Copeland," argued Hayes, rolling his eyes, "I'm just trying to watch out for you, because I can't let it happen like the last time."

The last time, Hayes had mentioned, had been with a pretty blonde named Charissa, also known as his last girlfriend. Charissa, like Lilly, had been a fan by ringside supporting him, and she, like Lilly, had run into him at the club after the show. However, unlike Lilly, Charissa had slept with him the night they met, and the next morning, just as he was about to get up and get dressed, Charissa grabbed his arm and promised she wouldn't leave him like the rest. That single promise alone, however, had made him realize his mistake, when Charissa suddenly announced she was fed up with him and left him heartbroken and crushed. It was after the unpleasant encounter with Charissa that Adam had struggled to trust women, hence hindering his chances of meeting the right girl…

…until he met the beautiful Lilly Hazel.

Lilly? The girl for him? She couldn't be. He didn't know Lilly well enough to tell that she was the one for him. She had initially been a fan he found attractive, but now they were extremely close in terms of their friendship. He'd always had a soft spot for green-eyed redheads, but Lilly had proved to be something else when his inner Casanova had attempted to seduce her.

It irritated him, however, to think that people believed she was just using him to get fame. Lilly was far from supercilious or shallow. She was sweet-natured, independent, and humble, too humble to the extent where she often criticized herself. She was definitely not the type who would use him for her own personal gain.

"Just because it happened with Charissa, doesn't mean it's going to happen with Lilly," argued Adam, "you're getting the wrong idea about Lilly, Hayes. She's not like other women."

"This may not apply to your sweet little Lilly, but the trouble with women is that they're manipulative," warned Hayes, "they'll pretend that they're cute and innocent, but really they're just playing with your feelings, which they'll eventually hurt in the end. I say that's more painful that getting socked in the balls."

Adam could tell what Hayes was trying to tell him, but he knew deep down in his heart that Lilly had no intentions to toy with his emotions and leave him heartbroken. Hayes may be a close friend, but he was entirely wrong about Lilly. She was the only exception.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: For all you rock fans, you know where 'Dreamboat Annie' comes from :)<strong>


	12. So Not Lilly

**To Pique an Interest**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: So Not Lilly<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: I promise y'all this will be a really good one!<strong>

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

_June 1__st__, 2009_

_Toronto, Ontario, Canada_

_My break at home has been rather interesting. Little did I expect to spend my week off with a famous WWE Superstar._

_Today, Adam and I spent the whole day together. We went to a farmer's market where we bought fresh produce for lunch, in addition to a bit of shopping at the nearby flea market. There, he bought me a beautiful green dress, something I found pretty but wouldn't normally wear, claiming that he'd rather see me in color. Um, hello? What's that supposed to mean, calling me a goth? Just kidding, but then again, Laurel's always bugged me about wearing too much black. _

_After that, we took a trip to the Toronto Zoo, which I haven't been to since I was a little kid. They just had two adorable newborn snow leopards from last month; so cute! _

_I don't remember the last time I had this much fun in Toronto; with Adam, I felt like a teenager all over again. He's the only guy who can make me feel like I'm in high school. Crazy, right? And he's much older than me. When I look back at this twenty years later my forty-year-old self will think I'm such a hopeless romantic, but hey, it doesn't happen everyday that a guy you've only known for such a short time will treat you like you've been best friends for years. _

I typed up the last of my diary entry and shut down my computer, plugging it into the charger before tucking myself into bed, smiling as I replayed the day's events in my head.

Later in my sleep, a dream stirred up in my head of Adam and I frolicking on a beach with no one else around us, the playful banter suddenly transforming into a heated make-out session. Hands were all over and our tongues were tangled in a game of tonsil tennis. Adam toyed with the strings of my bikini and in no time, had tossed both my top and bottoms off of my body, leaving me bare-naked before his very eyes. As he pulled back to examine me my whole face flushed and I quickly tried to cover myself up, but Adam removed my hands and explored my body with his hands and tongue. Just as he was about to to remove his board shorts and plunge into me, however, my damned alarm clock rang, making my fantasy disappear just like that.

I woke up to find my forehead soaked with sweat and my panties wet. What a wet dream that was. _Shame on you, Lilly, how could you have sex dreams about a friend you've been hanging out with for the past couple of days?_ My conscience scolded me as I took a much-needed cold shower.

But that didn't stop me from going bright red when Adam came over this morning and interrupted my breakfast.

"What's up with you, Lil? You look like you've put on too much blush," Adam asked me curiously as I blushed even harder.

"Nothing," I said quickly, putting away my plate and washing the dishes. I stiffened when I felt the warmth of Adam's palm on the small of my back seeping through my thin tank top.

"I can tell that you're lying from how quick that response was," chuckled Adam, "need any help?"

"No thanks," I insisted, scrubbing off my plate with a sponge. But Adam helped himself by grabbing a dry cloth and drying the dishes that had already been washed.

"I came to see you Lilly, so I have to at least do something to help you out," said Adam, who somehow knew where everything was kept. From the corner of my eye I could see him staring at my Hello Kitty tank top and matching hot shorts (hey! I can still wear them even though I got them when I was fourteen!). Guess I should've changed before making breakfast.

"I appreciate the kindness," I said, drying the last of the dishes and putting them away. Adam helped me reach for the cabinets that were too high for my shorter stature to reach. "So what are you up to today?" I asked him when we took a seat on the couch.

"I have to make a call with Vince this morning and I've got to make an appearance at a local bookstore after lunch, so I'm busy today," replied Adam, "but there's something I wanted to ask you, Lil. Are you free tonight?"

"Sure, what's up?" I asked, scooting in closer. Adam's arm draped around my shoulders and he pulled me in closer.

"We've been hanging out a lot for the past few days, Lilly, and I've had a lot of fun being with you," began Adam, "but tomorrow morning I've got to catch a flight to Minnesota to join the rest of the RAW crew for a house show…" He trailed off and bit his lip.

I raised an eyebrow, watching him with concern, "Adam? Are you alright?"

"Since I only have tonight left, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me tonight…_on a date_," he blurted nervously.

My jaw could've dropped to the ground right there. Adam had just asked me out on a date. At that point, I couldn't say how badly I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs right there. Mature for a twenty six year old, right? I sound just like a fan girl.

But I was a fan girl. A fan girl who so happened to catch the interest of the WWE Superstar they'd been in love with for over a decade. Knowing how many girls were dying to be in my position right now, I couldn't pass the opportunity and ruin it. Adam and I had grown to become friends within a span of a couple of days, something that was unlikely to happen to any other fan girl, whether they be of the WWE or not. In the past few days I saw Adam Copeland the person, not Edge the WWE Superstar. There is a vast difference between kayfabe and legit, and I could prove that to any fan out there.

But it wasn't Adam's fame status that gave me shivers when he asked me out. It was his true persona, the person he was outside of the ring, the witty yet nice guy who was sincerely sweet. I will confess, it wasn't his signature blond tresses or his tall, muscular frame. It was the man he was that made me fall for him over the past few days.

I was falling for Adam Copeland, not Edge. And this, to all you fans, is a big, big difference. You think you know him (no pun intended), but you don't really know him until you know the man, not the Superstar, he truly is at heart.

"Sure," I replied.

"Does dinner sound good?" asked Adam with a big grin on his face. Adam's eyes had lit up when I said yes, and from the way his grip on my shoulder tightened, I could tell he was excited, making me giggle softly.

"Sounds perfect," I said flirtatiously, something that was very un-Lilly.

"Great," said Adam, pecking me on the cheek. My eyes shot wide open just as he stood up and walked towards the front door. "I'll pick you up at half past seven. Can't wait for our date, Lilly Pad."

I was speechless even long after Adam had left, my fingers stroking the spot on my cheek where Adam had kissed me. After snapping out of my trance, I quickly got changed and headed straight to the mall to find something to wear.

Clearly, I wasn't myself at all today, when I'd walked out of Bebe with a purchase in hand and headed over to my friend Camryn's hairdressing salon. This wasn't me at all, buying a dress from a shop that screamed girly and then getting my hair and nails done. It was all because I was giddy over Adam that I was totally un-Lilly.

"Lilly Hazel!" exclaimed Camryn, when I'd arrived at her salon just outside downtown, "how have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"You too, Cam," I replied as she gave me a big hug.

"So what brings you here, Lil? I always thought you were the last person to drop by for an appointment," asked Camryn.

"Actually, I'm here to get my hair and nails done, if it's possible," I requested, taking a seat. Camryn nearly dropped the glass of water in her hand.

"You? Hair _and_ nails?" she gasped, "what's up with you, Lilly? You look like you're glowing! I know you never get your hair specially done unless it's something important! Hmmm…is it a big date? With who?"

"Yes, I'm going out tonight with someone," I answered, "but I can't quite tell you who my date is."

"Tell me, Lil! I'm all ears! I promise I won't tell anyone, not even Laurel!" said Camryn excitedly, passing me a book of nail colors so I could choose one.

"Okay fine, do you know Adam Copeland?"

"Who?"

"He's a wrestler from our hometown," I explained, "he goes by the ring name of Edge."

I nearly jumped out of my seat when Camryn suddenly squealed in delight. "Aaaahhhh! Seriously, Lilly? Edge? That hot wrestler guy you've been in love with since freshman year? You actually got a date with him? Aaaaaaahhhh!"

"Yup," I replied, nodding slowly, silently embarrassed at Camryn's outburst. She's still the same as she was back in high school.

"Oh my God, Lilly! You're so lucky! How the heck did you hook up with him?" squealed Camryn.

"I won't go into details, Cam," I hushed.

"Nevermind, Lil. For you and for him, I will make you look like a princess!" said Camryn, "I know just the perfect hairstyle for you; I've been dying to touch that amazing red hair of yours! And I think you should get sparkly silver nails with a bit of a bluish tint; that'll go with whatever you're wearing! And can I do your makeup, too? After you, there's no one else, so I'll close shop early and I'll do your makeup for you too!"

Camryn washed my hair, blow-dried it, and then styled it elegantly in a mass of curls on the right side of my head with a few loose locks curling softly on my shoulders. After fixing it in place with pins and a light coat of hairspray, she did my nails, coating them in a pretty silver polish with tints of light blue. Once we were done, she followed me back to my apartment where she helped me slip on the dress, shoes, and proceeded to do my make-up. Instead of the simple black mascara I always stuck with, she did what Laurel called a smokey eye, using shades of dark blue and dark gray to make my eyes pop.

I had to admit for the first time that I looked pretty good, even though I was not used to wearing something outside of my comfort zone and looking like a celebrity. When I added the finishing touches of long silver duster earrings and simple thin bangles, Camryn got excited again and exclaimed she had to take a picture of me.

"Oh, Lilly, you're so beautiful, why can't you just realize it?" sighed Camryn. Just as she was fixing my hair, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" she called outside, rushing to answer the door. I, on the other hand, did something else that wasn't me at all: checked myself out in the mirror.

For the first time, I didn't look like myself at all, but hey, I did look good. I give props to Camryn for priming me up for my date with Adam.

"Lilly! He's here!" Camryn squealed excitedly from outside.

"I'll be there in just a sec!" I called out to Adam, whom I knew was waiting for me in the living room. Grabbing a black clutch Camryn lent me, I nervously examined myself one last time before stepping outside, where my date was waiting for me…


	13. You're Beautiful to Me

**To Pique an Interest**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: You're Beautiful to Me<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: A continuation of the previous chapter, and I can tell you this one will be good! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, added to story alerts or favorites! Never thought this story would have been quite a success without you awesome Fanfictioners!<strong>

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><p>Lilly wasn't the only one giddy from the upcoming evening event. Adam, the same guy who'd asked her out for dinner, had been high on Lilly all day. Even as he chatted with Vince over the phone his thoughts were on Lilly, and he envisioned every female who walked up to him as the beautiful redhead whom he'd successfully asked out on a date.<p>

Though this would sound like an unlikely story to happen in reality, all Adam could think about was his upcoming date with Lilly. He'd had the urge to ask her out since the day they became friends, for he wanted to see the woman inside of her. He knew behind the rocker girl with a love of wrestling was a sexy, sophisticated lady full of womanly charm and appeal, and tonight, he was going to put this hypothesis to the test on a fancy dinner at a French restaurant his friend had recommended him.

Asking a fan out on a date wasn't exactly the everyday thing for a famous celebrity, but Lilly Hazel had been anything but a simple fan to him. From the way they clicked and interacted, Adam grew to like her more and more each day. He could tell from the night she rejected him that she was one of a kind, a class in her own, a special breed that could only be found in one person. Lilly's headstrong yet innocent demeanor was what intrigued him, what drew him towards her.

But tonight, he wanted to see a different side of Lilly; a side that she'd been hiding for all her life, a side that she didn't want anyone to see. From his experience with women, he knew that in every female was a sultry, romantic kitten, and he wanted to make that fire come alive in the stubborn, self-critical Lilly. He noticed from the way she dressed to the way she refused to acknowledge her positive traits, she was lacking a lot of confidence. His goal tonight was to make Lilly believe in herself, to make her believe that she was a beautiful woman.

That evening, at exactly seven thirty sharp, Adam arrived at her front door with a bouquet of white roses, well-groomed with his hair combed neatly and dressed in a simple white button down shirt and navy blue suit. Instead of the beautiful redhead he'd longed to see since the beginning of her day, a short yet leggy blonde answered the door, squealing in excitement. Why? Perhaps it was because of his celebrity status. But Adam knew that the one woman he wanted didn't find that the most important aspect about him.

"Oh, hi! I'm Camryn, Lilly's friend," said the blonde, holding out her hand to shake his, "you must be the famous Adam Copeland! Come on in, I'll go check on your date."

Adam walked into the familiar scene of Lilly's apartment, standing comfortably by the front hall waiting for his date. "Lilly! He's here!" the blonde named Camryn shrieked into the apartment. Adam perked up when he heard Lilly reply, "I'll be there in just a sec!"

"You'll love her, she looks so gorgeous," sighed Camryn, as she handed Adam a glass of water.

His eyes locked on the bedroom door, Adam waited for her with eager excitement bubbling up inside of him. He'd waited anxiously all day to finally take Lilly out on a date and he was going to see how beautiful she looked. He knew her well enough to know that she never took more than five minutes to get ready.

His prediction was well-proved when the door creaked open and Lilly emerged from her bedroom door. He had to practically pick his jaw up from the ground at that moment.

It was as though Lilly was a butterfly that had emerged from its cocoon after metamorphosis. It was as though an angelic choir sung into his head, and the room suddenly glowed. The Lilly he was staring at in awe looked nothing like the Lilly he was used to seeing everyday, but this was the same Lilly he'd befriended over the past few days, believe it or not.

Her famous blazing red hair was styled in an elegant mass of curls at the side of her head with a few locks curling loosely past her shoulders. Her makeup was sultry and sexy, the smokey effect making her eyes glitter like emeralds. Her lips were a soft bubblegum pink, the apples of cheeks done with a very light blush. Sparkly earrings and a matching silver cuff adorned the glamorous look.

But it wasn't the make-up that completely threw him off. It was what she wore that gave him the biggest wake-up call: a fuchsia pink halter dress that hugged all the curves in all the right places and gave just the right amount of cleavage. Instead of the Converse he was used to seeing on her feet, she wore a pair of peach colored stilettos that seemed to elongate her already shapely legs, something he rarely saw because she always wore pants. It was as though she'd transformed into a whole new woman.

Adam was put in a trance as he watched Lilly walk towards him, clutching her purse nervously. The way her feminine hips swung in that dress completely hypnotized him.

"I did a good job, didn't I?" he vaguely heard Camryn sigh next to him.

Adam couldn't have agreed more. If he wasn't so lost in his own little world, he would've thanked Camryn for helping Lilly show how truly sexy and feminine she really was. Who knew that underneath the black and wrestling t-shirts was a glamorous dame who could put all the supermodels in the world to shame?

"Woah…" Adam was lost for words as he once again reveled in Lilly's beauty, "you look...amazing."

Lilly blushed as she mumbled her thanks. She felt more self-conscious than usual, especially from the way Adam was drooling over her like a wolf to a prime rib. He noticed her blushing even harder when he presented her the bouquet of roses. "Adam, that's so sweet," gasped Lilly, "thank you." She was just about to put them away until Camryn did the job for her.

"You're welcome," said Adam, taking her hand and giving her an assuring squeeze, "you ready to go?"

"Yup," said Lilly, a beautiful smile adorning her pouty lips. She turned to Camryn and thanked her, who in turn replied cheerfully, "Anything to help you impress a guy, Lilly!"

Adam chuckled as Lilly blushed again, thinking how cute she looked that way. Hand in hand, he walked her to his sleek black Porsche Carrera GT in the parking lot, one of his most prized cars. Opening the door for her, the gentleman's protocol, of course, he jogged over to the other side and hopped in, driving off to the place where he'd booked their date.

"Adam, is this too much for our date?" asked Lilly nervously, tugging the hem of her skirt down and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She was not at all used to the fact that she was wearing a tight dress and looked like a contestant in the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Adam found it difficult to concentrate on the road, darting his focus between the street and the goddess in the passenger's seat. When he finally stopped at a red light, he turned towards Lilly and said in a husky purr, "No, it's perfect." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, making her giggle.

"So where exactly are you taking me for dinner?" Lilly tried to persuade Adam.

"A place that I know you'll love," was all he replied. But Lilly, the little minx that she was, tried bugging him out of spilling the beans, and Adam had to admit having a hard time not giving into the sweetest voice she could make.

He heard a gasp next to him when he drove up to Rosewater, one of the top rated fine dining restaurants in the city. He was well aware of how expensive it was, but that didn't matter to him. He wanted to make his beautiful Lilly feel like a queen.

"Adam! Are you serious about this place?" exclaimed Lilly, watching as Adam drove up to a valet parking attendant and parked the car in front of the restaurant, "this place is fucking expensive! You can't take me here!"

"Of course I can," replied Adam, as the attendant opened the door for Lilly, "there's a reason why I decided to bring you here." However, he noticed the attendant staring longingly at Lilly's legs and his nose twitched in jealousy. Handing the attendant his keys and a twenty-dollar bill, he gruffly mumbled his thanks. When Adam saw Lilly walking up to him he took her hand in his, and he shot the attendant a look saying, "She's mine."

They walked into the restaurant hand in hand and were escorted to a private room Adam had booked specially for the occasion. He tried to hide back a howl of triumph as he watched Lilly glancing around the restaurant in fascination, all while he shot glances between the waiter and Lilly's perfect round behind.

Lilly felt rather self-conscious at the stares she received from servers and customers around her, but all that was forgotten when she was brought to a private room on the second floor. It was perfect; just a single table for two was set up next to the window, with a single candle and scattered rose petals for decoration. The way the setting was set up so intimately made Lilly feel as though she were in a dream. No one had ever done something like this for her. But then she had to admit; this was the first time she'd let any man take her out for a private dinner.

"Adam…this is…" Lilly was astoundingly speechless.

"Do you like it?" Adam asked huskily.

"It's beautiful," replied Lilly, as Adam pulled out a chair for her and then took a seat in front of her. After they'd put their orders for drinks, the waiter handed them their menus. Again, Adam snarled under his breath when he noticed the waiter's eyes salivating over Lilly's chest as she ordered her choices. What was up with people in this place, watching Lilly like she was some delicious prime rib? He definitely didn't like the way the waiter's eyes pored over his girl the same way the valet parking attendant's had done earlier.

Adam felt his heart swell with pride as he gazed at his date; she was so beautiful it was impossible to put it in words. He'd forgotten about his jealousy the instant his eyes met Lilly's emerald green ones. She gave him a soft smile that made him melt; he could tell that she was enjoying the intimacy of their date.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" she asked him curiously, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Because you look gorgeous," he instantly replied. He smiled again when she blushed.

"Are you really sure I didn't overdress for the occasion?" asked Lilly uncertainly, shy under Adam's lustful gaze.

"Lilly, I think you look perfect," answered Adam honestly, "besides, it's the first time I've seen you wearing no black at all. Why is that so?"

"I don't know," said Lilly, shrugging, "something just told me not to wear any black. I don't know why, but I just didn't."

"Well I think you should wear black less often and more colors other than red," he suggested, "especially pink."

"Really? I hate pink," admitted Lilly. Adam couldn't understand why she hated pink; that pink dress she had on was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen on any woman.

"Why?"

"Because it's a girly color," Lilly laughed, "and I'm far from girly. Besides, my sister always told me that pink was the wrong color for me."

"I still don't think you should hide behind all that black," he murmured under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

To Adam, it was quite obvious that Lilly thought of anything but highly of herself. But tonight, he wanted to make her feel beautiful, sexy, and confident. He carefully chose to talk about subjects that not only interested her, but also didn't tempt her to criticize herself.

Their food arrived quickly and they briefly halted their conversation on dirt sheet reports to savor their appetizers…and each other. Though they were friends, Lilly and Adam both felt as though they were out on dates with longtime crushes. It was no denying that they couldn't keep their eyes off of each other.

Lilly was stuffed by the time dessert was served. Adam had certainly fed her well and she'd enjoyed the food very much. Never in her life had she been able to afford such luxurious dinners, but she admitted she wouldn't have minded coming back again for the five-star quality fine dining. She could hardly believe it was almost the end of their date when Adam drove her back home and accompanied her up to her apartment.

"Adam, I had an amazing time with you tonight," Lilly said to Adam when they'd reached her front door, "I can't thank you enough for doing all this for me. I mean, you really didn't have to take me to such an expensive restaurant…"

"Lilly," Adam's voice suddenly grew low and husky, "the reason why I took you out to dinner is because I wanted to know you better."

"But you already know me," Lilly laughed softly.

"But I never saw this side of you," said Adam, "the side of you that you keep hiding from everyone. The cute, charming, romantic, and sexy side of you. The side of you that's not wearing black all the time or constantly thinking she's not good enough for anyone. Nothing could have made me happier when I saw you having such a good time tonight, because I haven't seen you like this at all."

Lilly's heart stopped. She glanced up at Adam, whose eyes were clouded over in lust.

"Tonight, I got to see a whole new woman in you, Lil. I want you to know that you are the most beautiful girl in the world and I don't want you to think that I'm lying, because I'm not," whispered Adam, taking her hand in his and bringing it up to his heart.

"Why do you think I'm beautiful?" asked Lilly softly, shuddering at Adam's warm touch.

"Because you see the real me," was all Adam whispered before he suddenly grabbed Lilly by the waist and pulled her into a kiss.

Sparks flew in Lilly's head as Adam's warm, soft lips brushed against hers, a shock of adrenaline jolting her entire body awake. This kiss wasn't the same first kiss they shared the night they met; it was a kiss so full of passion and intensity. It was a kiss that made both Adam and Lilly feel more alive than ever before. Lilly sighed as Adam's hands cupped her cheeks, circling them softly before sliding down her neck and then to her waist. He used his hold on her waist to pull her in, deepening the kiss. Lilly's small hand slid to the back of Adam's neck as her tongue gently tangled with his. Adam moaned upon tasting her sweetness, a flavor so fruitful it made him wanting more.

Not a single thought of taking her to bed crossed his mind at all as he kissed her. All he could think about was how truly beautiful and sexy Lilly was, and how she showed that sultry side of her tonight, from her jaw-dropping appearance to the harmless flirting at dinner. The thought of her originally being just a pretty fan didn't occur to him at all. Other fan girls had nothing on Lilly Hazel. When his lips parted from Lilly's, Adam knew for sure that he didn't want to leave Toronto any time soon.

"I'll miss you so much," whispered Lilly, placing a hand on Adam's cheek and looking at him sadly.

"I don't want to go," said Adam, his forehead against Lilly's, "I don't want to leave you."

"Well I have to go back to Providence tomorrow anyway," she admitted.

"What time are you flying back?"

"My flight's in the evening."

"I'll cancel my flight tomorrow morning and catch a later one," said Adam, "I don't want our goodbye to be like this. I want to spend another day with you before we both leave."

"That would be great," said Lilly, smiling. She gave Adam a tender kiss, which Adam couldn't resist deepening once more. She was heartbroken that time had flown by so quickly, and before she knew it, she and Adam would go their respective ways, unsure of when they would meet again. But tonight, all that mattered to her was that Adam liked her as more than just a friend.


	14. All That Matters

**To Pique an Interest**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: All That Matters<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Next chapter; hope you all like it! I only own everything that is original, and no, the places I mention in this story are real places in Toronto.<strong>

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><p>All that mattered to her was that Adam liked her as more than just a friend.<p>

All that mattered to a lovesick Lilly Hazel was that her world had turned into a dream that she'd thought would never come true. Just the night before, she'd dolled up for, gone out for dinner with, and kissed the man of her dreams. This man was a man who was greatly off-limits to millions of fans across the globe. This man was the man whom she'd envisioned in her dreams since she was fifteen. This man was a famous WWE Superstar name Edge, also known as Adam Copeland to his colleagues and circle of family and friends.

He was also Adam Copeland to her, for the first time in her life.

Eleven years of chasing and pondering later, Lilly had experienced something with the probability of one in a million. She'd had a close encounter with Adam, befriended him after a series of sincere apologies, went out on several dates with him, and received the most amazing kiss after the previous, intimate dinner at a fancy French restaurant in her hometown of Toronto.

Lilly had tucked herself into bed the previous night, her lips still tingling from Adam's kiss and her head floating up into the clouds. That night, all she could think about was the way he salivated over her at dinner. The same could be said for her date as well, for he'd gone off into la-la-land that same night. He slept like a baby that night, for all he could think about was her beauty, her sweet charm, and her personality as fiery as her red hair.

Adam couldn't help but confess how badly he wanted to stay the night with her after that passionate mini-makeout session they had by her apartment. As he watched her that night reluctantly entering her apartment door, he realized he'd never felt this way about any woman before. The fact that she'd originated as one of the millions of female fans didn't matter to him at all. All that mattered to him was that she'd stolen his heart.

He remembered when he saw the hurt look in her eyes when their date had to end too soon. At that moment, he knew he had to be with her one last time before they parted. He was going to make their last day together worthwhile; he was going to make sure of that. He was going to go to great lengths to give her time of her life and make that one-week break the most memorable break she'd ever had.

The next day, Adam got up the instant his alarm went off, literally jumping out of bed and putting on his newest favorite shirt, an Affliction tee that Lilly complimented on one day when they were at the mall together. He couldn't help but put on a little extra cologne and gel his hair a little bit to give it the slight surfer blond wave commonly associated with him, remembering the day Lilly admitted how much she loved his hair. Though he could fantasize all day of her long, slender fingers running through his skull, he knew he couldn't waste time, for both of their flights leave tonight.

He drove straight down to Lilly's apartment with a single carnation in hand, for that was the only gift he could pick up at seven in the morning (aka his vase). Imagine his surprise when she answered the door in nothing but her matching Hello Kitty pajama set.

"Wow, you're early," yawned Lilly, her hair in a bedhead mess. She blushed furiously; she had no intention of allowing Adam to see her in this state, where she had no make-up, her hair in a mess, and wearing nothing but a skimpy tank top and matching hot shorts.

"I'm an early riser, Lilly Pad," said Adam, whistling at her cute little outfit and giving her a wink. He handed her the rose, "Here, babe. The only gift I could get you at seven in the morning."

Lilly giggled and allowed him in. She said nothing as Adam comfortably made himself at home, as he usually did whenever he came over. Before she could fetch him an espresso, he stopped her and insisted he could handle it himself.

"You sure?" asked Lilly, glancing down and feeling rather hot, for his hand was on top of hers.

"I'm sure, Lil, go change," Adam insisted, grasping her hand and giving it a quick squeeze. His eyes followed her as she walked into her bedroom, all while he couldn't wipe the goofy smile off of his face. She was just too adorable.

He was greatly surprised when she walked out in a shirt he'd never seen her wear before, let alone, a shirt he knew she'd never get caught dead wearing. Instead of the usual wrestling T-shirt or black band shirt, she wore a deep green cropped tank top and dark pink capris, her hair done in a fishtail braid on one side. It was such a simple look, yet it drove Adam crazy. Seeing Lilly wearing something that wasn't black or red left him in awe. She was so beautiful it made him wonder why she never wore bright colors.

"No black?" asked Adam.

"No black," confirmed Lilly, nodding.

"I like it, babe," complimented Adam, "I really do. Why don't you wear anything like this on any other regular day, anyway? What's with the change?"

"I like black," replied Lilly, "it's just that…I just didn't feel like wearing it today."

"Do I have something to do with that decision?" teased Adam, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her the sexy smirk that could've made her drop her panties in a heartbeat.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she retorted playfully. She pulled away from him and led him over to the couch, "so what's the plan for today, Adam?"

"I was thinking we'd hit a beach since it's almost summer time…" began Adam.

"Which one?"

"Hmm…I thought about Hanlan's Point…" Adam said, flashing her an evil smirk and wiggling his eyebrows.

Lilly's jaw dropped. "You mean that beach filled with naked people? Hell no!" she exclaimed. "And nice try, Adam. You're not using that just to see me naked," she added.

"I wouldn't have minded, anyway," growled Adam seductively, suddenly growing excited at the thought of possibly seeing Lilly without clothes on.

"Adam!" gasped Lilly, grabbing a pillow and whacking him repeatedly, "gosh, you're so wrong!"

"That's what you love about me, babe," said Adam with a wink. He couldn't help himself; he was having quite a bit of fun teasing her like this, watching her turn bright red with every sexual joke he made.

"I think Balmy would be a better choice," said Lilly, suggesting one of the beaches located in a popular area known as 'The Beach', "it's less crowded."

"Good choice, now go get your swimsuit."

"Now I'm going to have to change again," sighed Lilly, walking back into her bedroom to quickly change, fetch her things, and join her new friend with benefits on their last day together in Toronto.

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

I remembered visiting The Beach a lot when I was little, when my parents would take my sister and I to go play in the sand and water. This time, however, instead of getting buried in the sand and wrestling my sister in the water, I was with Adam, my newest best guy friend and date.

Somehow, I didn't feel like wearing black. Something inside my head just told me not to wear black. And yes, perhaps it had to do with the fact that I was now head over heels with Adam. Guess Laurel was right when she said relationships could change people.

Fortunately for Adam and I, The Beach, a popular tourist destination, was not as crowded as usually expected, so parking was easy and we found a perfect, shaded spot by the trees at Balmy Beach, one of the beaches in the area. Pulling out a beach towel and a cooler with drinks, we settled before I changed out of my sundress.

I noticed Adam watching my every move through his aviator sunglasses and I felt rather self-conscious as I removed my cover-up to reveal what was underneath it: a blue, green and black bikini I'd never worn in my life.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I questioned Adam, who was smirking at me mischievously.

"Because you're hot, duh," he replied with a chuckle, "I didn't think you were the type who'd wear a bikini."

"My sister bought this for me for my twenty-first birthday with a card that read, 'Send this back to me in five years if you can't fit your lard ass in it!'" I explained, "Look who's talking now, bitch!"

Adam burst out laughing, grabbing me by the waist and pulling in for a kiss. "Damn straight," he chuckled. I shuddered as I felt his muscled torso through his thin T-shirt.

Adam sat down next to me on the towel and he pulled off his shirt. I just sat there in awe, admiring not only his toned, muscled six-pack, but also the tattoos adorned on his arms. The sun that covered part of his left shoulder was my favorite in particular.

"Like something you see, babe?" asked Adam, scooting in and pulling me close to his body. I smiled softly, breathing in the subtle scent of his cologne.

"They're so simple, yet so beautiful," I replied, reaching out to trace his sun tattoo, "I love tattoos and I've always wanted to get one, but I'm too chicken because I'm scared of needles."

"You could get a temporary one, like an airbrush," he suggested.

"But it won't be with me forever," I said, looking into his beautiful green eyes, "as much as this sounds really cheesy, I wanted one just like yours. I remember when I first saw it, I went up to my dad and said I wanted it on the same place, and he said, 'you sure, Lillian? You gotta use a needle to drive it into your skin', and from then on I was afraid to get a tattoo."

"It's scary at first, but eventually you get used to it," assured Adam, "think of what Randy had to go through to get his double sleeves."

"Don't know how he does it," I giggled.

We spent the rest of the morning just talking and enjoying the breeze blowing in from the ocean, watching the world go by while we cuddled in each other's arms. I closed my eyes feeling Adam's fingers combing through my hair, at the same time stroking his bare chest. A few quick kisses suddenly turned into a prolonged kissing marathon, and fortunately I was able to stop before Adam turned it into a heavy make out session.

"I don't want you to go," murmured Adam, nuzzling against my neck.

"I know," I sighed, kissing him again, "but I have to."

"I'm going to miss you, babe," he said softly, "what time do we have to go?"

"My flight's at seven, so I've got to be packed and ready to go by five," I answered.

"How about we have lunch nearby and then head back to your place?" he suggested. I nodded in agreement and he kissed me again, prolonging it for a bit before I broke it off and changed into my sundress.

Adam and I headed to the airport together, for our flights were around the same time. Since mine was earlier than his, he accompanied me to check-in and brought me to my gate. It hurt me deeply to see the disappointment in his eyes as we passed through security checks and immigrations.

"_This is the final boarding call for passengers flying Air Canada Flight 657 to Halifax. All passengers please report to Gate B19 for boarding. Thank you."_

I took a few steps toward the line of passengers at the gate, but turned back and ran straight into Adam's arms, trying to hold back the tears. Grabbing his face, I kissed him with all I had, not caring that people were staring at us.

"I'll miss you," I whispered, "I had an amazing time with you this week and I wish it hadn't ended this quickly. Thank you so much for everything."

"No, Lilly, I want to thank you," corrected Adam, "I want to thank you for showing me what kind of girl you really are, and truly I think you're the most amazing girl I've ever met. You really made this week the most memorable week I could ask for. I'll never forget you and I'll keep in touch with you always. I'll call you as often as I can. I'll email or Skype you whenever I can. I promise I'll keep in touch with you, babe. I'm gonna miss you so much."

Adam gave me one last kiss, a tearful goodbye to end our week together. Reluctantly parting away from him, I watched him watching me as I entered the gate, wiping the tears away from my face. My laptop would certainly await a long, emotional diary entry about the one week I spent with a WWE Superstar, a wrestler who wasn't a wrestler in my eyes.

He was Edge, the WWE Superstar, to me for years, but in one week and afterwards, he would be Adam Copeland, the person. Throughout all this time spent with Adam, I was oblivious to the fact that I'd been crazy over his celebrity status for over a decade. During that week, I'd grown fond of him. I'd gone crazy for him as a regular person.

I knew there were going to be dirt sheet reports flying all over the Internet, for there were hundreds of people who saw me with him. I knew someday people were going to get a hold of my contacts and I'd have thousands of messages in my Inbox and hundreds of friend requests on my Facebook, all of them asking me what my time spent with Adam was like. They were all going to be asking what it was like to be with a WWE Superstar for one week.

Yes, I was with a WWE Superstar for one week. That wasn't how I saw him, however. To be quite honest, I would never tell my story to the whole world; I wasn't into the whole fifteen minutes of fame. He remained on my mind throughout the entire flight. As I slept for the hour-long flight, I dreamed of the times we spent together, starting from the day we ran into each other at the mall till just this afternoon at the beach. I loved and treasured every moment of it. It wasn't a fan experience that I'd won from a contest. It was something spontaneous that wouldn't have happened to just any other fan. I didn't think of myself as a fan at all during that week I spent with Adam. Looking back, I could hardly believe he was famous, after all.

But his celebrity status didn't matter. The potential rumors and gossip didn't matter.

All that mattered was that I'd found a new me, a brighter, happier me thanks to my newest special friend, Adam. Hell, I sure was going to miss him.

As soon as I returned home, there were sure to be a lot of questions thrown onto me. Those who'd read the dirt sheets were going to beg me to spill. And my roommate was one of them, when I'd unlocked the door to the apartment at nine in the evening and was surprised to find her watching TV rather than out clubbing.

"Lillian Murphy Hazel, you've got some explaining to do."


	15. Explanations

**To Pique an Interest**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: Explanations<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Thank you so much for everyone for reading and reviewing! I have to say that this is easily the most popular story in terms of reviews, and I assure you I'll continue to regularly update this story. I'm having lots of fun writing about Lilly and Adam and it's mostly thanks to you guys!<strong>

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

"Lillian Murphy Hazel, you've got some explaining to do," was the very first thing Laurel spoke when I'd rolled in my suitcase and entered the apartment. I said nothing as I brought my suitcase into my room. I was tired and sleepy and honestly didn't feel like speaking to Laurel. It wasn't just the fact that I was exhausted from the plane ride either.

"You don't call for me an entire week and then just today, I find an article on one of those dirt sheet websites that reads 'Edge cuddles up with a hot fan girl', and there I see pictures of you and your wrestler lover boy together in Toronto!" exclaimed Laurel.

"Wait, what?" I gasped, tearing my attention away from unpacking.

"That's right, missy, you heard me!" said Laurel, "I demand to know what the hell is going on and why I'm not the first person who knows about your little affair with him!"

"How the hell did it get on the dirt sheets that quickly?" I demanded. Laurel opened up her laptop and showed me the article, which included pictures of Adam and I in various places in Toronto—the mall where he and I ran into each other, Dreamboat Annie, the restaurant where I met the other Superstars, the park, the restaurant where he took me out on a date, and a parking lot at The Beach. In addition, it also included a photo where I was sitting at ringside watching his match at _Backlash_ and a written article:

_In the past week, Adam 'Edge' Copeland, who was in Toronto taking a week-long break, was spotted with a smoking hot redhead in the streets of Toronto. She was first spotted by ringside at the Backlash pay-per-view, where Edge battled John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. At one point in the match, Cena tossed Edge over the barrier and the Rated-R Superstar landed right next to her. According to fan reports, Copeland had been eyeing the red-haired beauty throughout the entire match and even flashed her a smile. Coincidentally, a fan reported that she had a close encounter with him at a club where she ran into the wrestler as well, and was seen leaving the club with him. _

_Her name remains unknown at this point, but from the pictures supplied by fans in Toronto, it's quite clear that she could possibly be Edge's newest flame. But the question is, is she looking for a relationship or using him for fame? _

I was absolutely horrified and embarrassed upon reading the comments that followed:

_Wow, she's hot! I was sitting on the opposite side of where she was and Edge couldn't take his eyes off of her. I don't blame him at all; I'd fuck her if I had the chance. _

_The chick is hot, but I say she's using him. _

_She's probably one of those ring rats. I say she's using him for his fame. _

_No way in hell is she using him. I saw them at The Beach just an hour ago and Edge was smitten over her. I say she's just a regular girl and he's looking for a relationship with her. _

_In that picture of her in the pink dress—DAMN! Now that is what I call a body that's great for bed! I don't see how a girl that hot wouldn't want a fling with him. _

"Well, at least most people commented on how hot you were," said Laurel, shrugging. I wanted to slap her at that moment.

"I don't believe this," I gasped, the tears coming back again, "God, I'm so stupid. I should've seen this coming."

"Why didn't you tell me about this, Lil?" asked Laurel, "you didn't call me the entire week you were in Toronto."

"I was just so caught up with being with Adam," I sobbed, "I just ignored all the stress and everything else around me and had the time of my life with him. But now I realize what it's like to be the subject of a dirt sheet article."

"If whatever the article said isn't true, then could you tell me exactly how this happened between you two? C'mon, Lil, I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything," begged Laurel, throwing her arms around me.

"Alright, I forgave him for what he did, and that's how it started," I began, "I was at the mall looking for a new pair of boots when he saw me at a store I was in and came in to talk to me. He said the reason why he sent me those flowers was because he wanted to make up to me for the stupid thing he did that night when we first met. And so I, feeling sorry for the poor guy who'd just spent hundreds of dollars on me over flowers, accepted his apology and forgave him, and from there on, we started hanging out."

"Gradually, over time, we began to bond and became close friends. I know a few days isn't very long to become that close with someone, but with Adam it was different. He's nothing like the character he portrays on TV. That little cockiness he showed when we saw him at that club is part of his personality. He was sweet, funny, and an all-round great guy. We liked a lot of the same things and he was one of the few people who could understand me. It was so much fun being around him and I completely forgot the fact that he was actually a famous wrestler in the first place."

"So one day, on the second last day in Toronto, he asked me out for dinner. He took me to Rosewater…"

"No way! He took you to _Rosewater_? Lilly, that's one of the most expensive fine dining restaurants in the whole of Toronto!" exclaimed Laurel, "none of my dates have ever taken me there because they can never afford any of the items on the menu!"

"Yeah, I know," I said, "anyway, he took me there for dinner despite my protests, and there he booked us a private room so no one could disturb us. It was so romantic, like it was something I'd see in a movie and think it would never happen to me in real life, but apparently it did. After dinner, he drove me home in one of the Porsches he collects and…" My voice began to shake, my lips began to tremble upon the memory of what had happened when Adam dropped me home from dinner. I could feel his sweet taste returning to my taste buds, as though he were kissing me at this very moment…

"And then what, Lil?" Laurel's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"He told me the reason why he took me out was because he wanted to see a different side of me, the side of me that's cute, charming, sexy and romantic, a side that he claims no one has ever seen in me before. He said he saw a woman in me and he really, really liked it, and he told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes," I continued.

"Awwww! That's so sweet!" gasped Laurel, "anything else to share?"

I nodded, trying to hide the smile that was growing on my face. I could hear Adam's deep, husky voice in my ear telling me the same things I'd just retold to Laurel. "I asked him why he thought I was beautiful, and he said that I saw the real him. And then…he…_he kissed me_."

Laurel's jaw dropped. Suddenly, she started screaming and jumping up and down excitedly, grabbing my hands and cheering happily. "Are you serious?" she squealed happily, "are you fucking serious, Lil? He actually _kissed_ you? I knew it! He so likes you! Adam Copeland fucking likes you! Aaaaahhh! You're so lucky, Lilly! I can't believe THE Adam Copeland has a thing for you!"

"THE Adam Copeland?" I questioned her, laughing, "why are you calling him that?"

"He's a famous WWE Superstar, Lil, why do you think I included the word 'THE' in it?" replied Laurel nonchalantly.

Correction, Laurel. He may be a famous WWE Superstar, but that's not the reason why I had been falling for him recently.

"You do realize he's a normal person too, Laurel," I pointed out.

"Still, Lilly, I don't understand how you could act all normal around him for an entire week without fainting once," said Laurel, "I mean, you've been crushing on the guy since you were fifteen."

"When you spend time with someone, Laurel, what you see in them is something that no one else sees," was all I said before ordering her out of my room.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Adam had managed to catch up with some sleep and was now getting dressed for a new day in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since there was a Smackdown taping that night, he had to head straight down to the arena to practice his segment with Jeff Hardy and his match against Rey Mysterio. But the busy schedule wasn't what was bothering his mind at the moment.<p>

Just hours ago, he'd experienced a tearful goodbye with the most amazing woman he'd met in a long time: Lilly Hazel. Sure, she was just a fan to him when they first met, but when she rejected his advances, he somehow knew that she was something different, and whatever made her different grabbed his attention instantly.

The fact that Lilly was immensely beautiful wasn't just what made her so attractive to him. It was her lovable presence yet hardheaded sense that drew him towards her. But most importantly, it was also the way she acted around him that triggered the way he felt about her.

Despite being a fan since the beginning of his career, Lilly treated him as though he were any other ordinary guy she'd come across in her ordinary life. She hadn't thought of their time together as her opportunity to seize the fifteen minutes of fame every fan desired. She treated it as though it were like any other time for bonding with a new friend.

That bonding time, however, turned into something more as he found himself more and more attracted to her day after day. His growing feelings for her led to him asking her out on a date, to which she was more than happy to accept. That night when he went to her apartment to fetch her, he saw her step out of that bedroom looking so elegant and gorgeous it left him breathless. Seeing her break out of her shell and doll up really impacted him. He'd always thought of her as beautiful but when she stepped out in that sexy dress and glammed up makeover, he thought he'd died and gone up to heaven. It took all of his self-control to restrain himself from pulling her into his arms and taking her to the nearest bedroom. But instead, he confessed his feelings for her and kissed her for the first time since she rejected him. It was one hell of a kiss, he'd like to add, for his lips couldn't stop tingling long after he'd returned home from the date.

Adam hadn't taken his mind off of Lilly since she left for her flight the previous day. In fact, he was so distracted that he couldn't seem to concentrate when he and Jeff were practicing their segment for tapings later that night.

"Hey man, what's up with you? You look troubled." Jeff noticed something that his friend was not as focused as he usually was during their practices.

"It's nothing," said Adam, wanting Jeff to focus on their segment. Ironically, nothing in his mind at the moment had to do with tonight's tapings.

"Adam, we've been friends for over ten years, I'm here to help if you need anything," assured Jeff, "besides, it's not like you at all to shut up about something."

"I've got a lot on my mind, Jeff, it's hard to explain," replied Adam.

"What exactly happened in that week you were gone?" questioned Jeff, "was it something that happened then that's making you like this?"

"I met an amazing girl and I can't get her out of my mind," explained Adam, "it was that Lilly girl Jay told you guys about. The redhead I bought that drink for at the club that night after _Backlash_. I saw her while I was in Toronto and we began hanging out. Over time, though, I began falling for her."

"She must have been really special if you were spending a lot of time with her," commented Jeff, "what was it about her that made you like her so much?"

"She liked me for who I was, not the persona I put on when I'm Edge," answered Adam, "she wasn't looking to get her fifteen minutes of fame. She wasn't looking to get the perks of being with a WWE Superstar. She was real and honest and sincere, and that says a lot for a girl who's been a fan of mine since my first day here."

"It would've taken a lot of self control for a fan like her to do that, Adam," said Jeff.

"It does. But Lilly's not a fan to me, at least not anymore. She's the most amazing and the most fun girl I've met in a long time. After she flew back to Providence I couldn't stop thinking about her. I have to her see her again, Jeff, but I don't know when's the next time we'll be stopping by Rhode Island or even Toronto again," said Adam sadly.

"Maybe you could call her when you've got the time," suggested Jeff, "keeping in touch is always a great way to maintain a relationship. When you're on the road all the time with a long-term girlfriend at home, communication is the key to letting them know that you still think about them."

Adam sighed as he thought about the busy schedule that awaited him. Since he was one of the top guys on Smackdown his schedule was guaranteed to be extremely busy, especially after missing an entire week of work. No matter what, he was going to do his best to maintain his relationship with Lilly.


	16. For Her

**To Pique an Interest**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: For Her<strong>

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><p>That night, Lilly returned home from another day in the office, having just finished a late night gig at one of the coffee houses in campus with her band. Although she'd completed her final project to wrap up her three-year graduate's program in architecture, she still had several gigs to play within Providence as well as some French tutoring she'd been hired to do part-time for a local high school. Graduate life wasn't as easy as she thought it'd be when she initially decided to continue onto the graduate's program. However, after the graduation ceremony in a week's time, she would walk away from RISD with graduate's degrees in architecture and graphic design, as well as undergraduate degrees in interior design and urban design. Afterwards, she planned on searching for a job within the US or in her home country of Canada.<p>

After putting her prized Washburn Maya Series DD91 away in its case, Lilly took a quick shower and changed into an oversized white t-shirt and a baggy pair of cotton pajama pants. She walked into the kitchen, pulled out a box of the ultimate comfort food—Kraft Mac and Cheese—and began preparing her dinner; she was usually a good cook but wasn't in the mood to spend too much time on a meal for one. Laurel had gone out clubbing with Kayla and a couple of her other model friends, so Lilly was all by herself tonight.

While she waited for the water to boil, Lilly turned on her laptop and inserted a DVD that contained a collection of her favorite matches of her favorite WWE Superstar and newest friend, Adam Copeland, or Edge in this case. She started the first match—Edge vs. Mick Foley at _Wrestlemania 22_—and quickly turned her attention back to her Mac and Cheese.

Five minutes later, Lilly was lounging lazily on the recliner in the living room, watching the match, paying attention to every single spot Adam and Mick made in that match, while at the same time slowly feeding herself a spoon of Mac and Cheese. She was so engrossed in the match that she grew greatly annoyed when the sound of a phone ringing in her earphones interrupted her. However, she noticed the call was from the very same man whom she was just watching on the laptop screen she was just about to destroy in frustration.

Lilly's heart leapt as she hurriedly clicked the green 'answer' button, elated at not only the fact that he had managed to call, but also that he was making a video call with her. That meant she got to see his beautiful face, the fact that she so dearly missed for days. She hadn't seen him at all since the day they parted at the airport, but the emails, texts, photos, and e-cards he'd been sending her were little reminders that she would someday see him again. The little hearts he sent her through texts, the email he sent her of a love poem he wrote with the help of Jeff Hardy, the photo of him holding a pink teddy bear holding a heart that said 'I miss you'…they all made her melt. Never in her life had Lilly ever experienced such a feeling, the feeling of being in love.

"Hey you," greeted Lilly, when the image of Adam appeared on her screen.

"Hey babe," replied Adam back, his eyes glowing with happiness. Lilly noticed his hair was wet and he was shirtless. She blushed, praying that it wasn't easily noticed.

"Haven't seen you in a while," said Lilly, trying to hide the grin on her face.

"Haven't seen you in a while too," replied Adam, "it's not the same without you by my side."

"I know," said Lilly softly, "I miss those times too. How come you called now?"

"Didn't feel like going out tonight with the boys, so I returned to the hotel right after the show to call it a day, and I was just on checking my email and I noticed you were online at the same time as well," said Adam, slipping on a wife-beater, "to be honest, I notice you're hardly on your Skype at all."

"I usually don't go on that much," admitted Lilly, "but today I had it on because I was chatting with my parents, and I was just watching one of your matches before you called."

"Which one?"

"The one of you and Mick Foley at Wrestlemania 22."

"I remember that match, Lil, you could obviously tell how painful it was," admitted Adam, shuddering, "I think the burns I got from spearing Mick were just as bad as the tacks in my back."

"Not a very good choice for me to watch all that blood and gore while I'm eating my dinner," said Lilly, taking another bite of her meal.

"Mac and Cheese?" asked Adam, smiling at what she was eating.

"My favorite," confirmed Lilly, giggling. Adam smiled softly at her cute, soft giggle, a very feminine giggle no one would have expected from someone like Lilly.

"Cute," he commented, "so what's Lilly Pad doing staying home on a Friday night? Shouldn't she be out with her friends?"

"Nope, she's too lazy to go out," laughed Lilly.

"So how've things been going, babe?"

"Well, but busy. Everything for my final project is finished and I just finished my term paper last week as well. But I've still got gigs to play and French tuition on my schedule, so I am somewhat busy," answered Lilly.

"You speak French?"

"I am from Canada, Adam," Lilly pointed out, "It is one of the national languages. I had to take it up in school, plus my mom's French Canadian."

"Say something to me in French," requested Adam.

"Why?"

"I just want to hear you say something in French."

"_Fais-moi l'amour_," purred Lilly, bursting into giggles upon what she'd said that Adam didn't fully understand.

"You need to speak more French, babe, you sound hot!" growled Adam, wiggling his eyebrows, "we need more hot French speaking chicks here in the WWE."

"I think Maryse will suffice," said Lilly, "besides, I don't intend to be a WWE Diva after graduation. Speaking of which, Adam, I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead, babe."

"My graduation ceremony is in a week's time, and I was wondering if you were available to come see me," asked Lilly. She'd been waiting to ask that question since she and Adam began hanging out.

"I don't know if I can, Lil," said Adam sadly, "we've got shows that are all going to mostly be in the west coast. And since I already took a week off recently, I doubt Vince is going to let me off for you."

Lilly's heart sank. She was well aware of his very busy schedule, but that still didn't stop her from feeling extremely disappointed.

"Oh," said Lilly softly, biting her lip, "I just wanted to see you again."

"Me too, babe," said Adam, "but I will do whatever I can just to see you again. I promise I'll come back and see you when I can, but I'll try and talk to Vince. Lil, no matter what happens, I'll be there when you need the most. Even if I can't make it, babe, it doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you walking up that podium and getting your diploma."

Adam's words only made Lilly want him even more to be there at her graduation. That was probably the sweetest thing any guy had ever said to her. At twenty-six years old, Lilly felt like a teenager engrossed in young love. Adam was the first guy who'd ever been this sweet and affectionate towards her, ever.

"Adam…I…" Lilly was lost for words.

"Get some sleep, Lilly Pad," said Adam, when he watched her let out a yawn, "I'll talk to you whenever I can."

"Goodnight, Adam," yawned Lilly.

"Goodnight, babe."

* * *

><p>The next day, Adam instantly went to work to try and negotiate a day off or two to go watch Lilly's graduation. Knowing time was running out (the ceremony was in a week's time), he requested an urgent appointment with Teddy Long later that afternoon in the hotel lobby.<p>

"Hey, playa, how was your break?" Teddy Long greeted him cheerily, watching Adam take a seat in front of him.

"It was excellent, Teddy, very much needed," replied Adam before ordering drinks for him and his boss.

"I hear the dirt sheets have been screaming about you and a girl while you were in Toronto, Adam," said Teddy, "I know it's none of my business to ask about your personal life, but what was all that about?"

"That was kinda what I wanted to bring up, Teddy," said Adam, "you see, I met her after _Backlash_ at the club some of the guys and I hit later that night, and…er…" Adam didn't want to get into detail and confess that he'd actually tried to seduce Lilly the first night they met, "we…decided to exchange numbers and coincidentally happened to meet up with each other in Toronto. She happened to be there on a break as well. We became friends and started getting closer during that week."

"Well that's cute," said Teddy, nodding, "and what was it about her that you wanted to ask, playa?"

"I was wondering if you'd let me take a few days off so I could head up to Providence, where she's attending college, and attend her graduation ceremony," blurted Adam nervously. This was the first time Adam had ever felt nervous asking something from his boss.

Teddy contemplated for a moment. Adam nervously fumbled with his fingers, praying that he'd get a chance to see Lilly soon again. He knew that by the time he was able to return up to Providence, Lilly would most likely not be there, long out of RISD and finding a job somewhere else in the country or within Canada, which they weren't due to visit until late this year.

"Tell me more before I say what I think, playa."

Adam reflected back on a dirt sheet article Jason had shown him not too long ago about him and Lilly being a 'couple' and clenched his teeth at the many comments he saw from users accusing Lilly of being nothing more than a ring rat seeking to gain her fifteen minutes of fame from using him. He knew she wasn't like that. He knew there were plenty of girls like her who would've done so if given the opportunity, but Lilly wasn't one of them.

"I think Lilly is worth skipping a few days off, Teddy. She's a really special girl and she really means a lot to me," Adam felt his heart swell as he tried to convince Teddy that Lilly's graduation was extremely important. Lilly really did mean a lot to him and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be there for her when she was being honored, "and I believe it would really mean a lot to her if I were to attend her graduation ceremony."

"Playa, if I were in charge, I'd let you off, but I gotta talk to the big boss first," said Teddy, "you just came back from a week long break and I doubt he's going to let you go again this time. But don't worry, playa, I promise you'll see your little lady soon."


	17. Reunited

**To Pique an Interest**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17: Reunited<strong>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: Wow; it's been a while since I've updated...I'm so sorry for the long delays and the writing blocks! I was able to get this done recently, but despite this most recent update, don't expect my updates to be as regular as they used to be. I'll try and get some stories up and some current ones done as soon as I can, but for now, enjoy this chapter of To Pique an Interest :)<strong>

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><p><span>Lilly's POV<span>

Graduating from university as a graduate student was one of the happiest feelings ever. Finally you're out of school and you have all the tons of experience needed to get the job that you want. With both my undergrad and graduate's degrees, I planned on returning back to my hometown of Toronto (if not Toronto, perhaps in Vancouver or somewhere within the states) to look for a job in the urban design field.

I wasn't as happy as I thought I would be, however, because a certain special someone whom I'd hoped to show up hadn't showed up at all. I recalled sitting on the podium along with my fellow graduates, peering over Billy Gringoll's shoulder scanning the audience for that familiar mane of blond hair. Crestfallen, I silently reminded myself to give him a Skype call when I came back from the graduation party later on.

I ended up not giving him a Skype call that evening, however.

My arm linked with Laurel's, we were absolutely high on the graduation glow, skipping all the way from the podium to the parking lot, singing happily as we drove back down to our apartment, and then frolicking to our apartment to get ready for the party Brian was organizing at his frat house. Just as the elevator doors opened, however, every single thought of Brian's party escaped my head when I locked eyes with my 'long lost' friend, who was casually sitting by the door to our apartment.

"Surprise, Lilly Pad," greeted Adam with a smile.

"Adam!" I cried happily, tearing away from Laurel and quite literally throwing myself into his arms. God, I missed him so much. It had been forever since I last saw him in person and I'd been dying to see him for ages. Shows, interviews, and press conferences had kept Adam extremely busy, but that didn't stop him from keeping his promise to see me again. "I missed you so much," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"I missed you too, babe," he whispered, cupping my cheeks and pulling me into a kiss that I craved for so long. "Congratulations on your degree. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it. I really wanted to watch your ceremony but I didn't have a ticket," he chuckled, caressing me softly.

"It's the thought that counts," I giggled before kissing him again.

"Ehem!" coughed Laurel from behind me. Tearing my lips away from Adam's, I'd nearly forgotten that Laurel was standing right behind me witnessing my mini-reunion with Adam. "So you two are officially dating now?" she asked me with a cocked eyebrow.

"Um…"

"Of course, it's been that way since our second last day in Toronto," replied Adam casually. I glanced up at him with the same curious expression Laurel gave Adam and me.

"We are?" I asked curiously.

"Duh," he replied, "why else do you think I can't stop thinking about you every day?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but Lil, I'd like to invite your…er…_boyfriend_…to join us later," coughed Laurel, who couldn't stop smirking at the two of us, "our friend Brian's throwing a graduation party at his frat house and he's inviting everyone from our graduating class. You can be show up as Lilly's date if you'd like."

Adam turned to me and replied simply, "It's entirely up to Lilly if she's cool with it or not. Otherwise, I have a lot of catching up I have to do with her." He winked at me cheekily with that last comment, making me blush furiously at that double meaning behind his words.

I hadn't seen Adam in days and with his busy schedule this would be the perfect opportunity to catch up on things over dinner. But honestly, it wouldn't be such a bad idea bringing Adam along to Brian's party so he could meet all my friends. After all, I'd already met his famous WWE Superstar friends, with the thought of Randy's flirting making me smile.

"You're more than welcome to come along with me if you'd like," I replied to Adam, squeezing his hand in mine, "we can go to Brian's party tonight and have time together tomorrow evening to celebrate."

"Ooh la la, Lilly Hazel; you've gotten really naughty since you came back from Toronto!" teased Laurel. Again, what was with the ambiguity in words getting to me tonight? I blushed a brilliant red so red that it matched my hair, while Adam tried to hide a laugh.

"I hate to break it to you, Lilly Pad, but I've got to leave for Boston tomorrow," Adam said, looking disappointed, "why don't we go to the party together and leave early. Then we can go out for dinner somewhere."

"On the contrary, Mr. Copeland, why don't you take your sweetheart out tonight for dinner instead?" suggested Laurel, "after all, you two haven't seen each other in days and won't get to for a while anyway. Brian won't mind, Lil; I'll just tell him that you were tired and didn't feel like going out. Torrey will be disappointed though."

"Who's Torrey?" Adam asked me suspiciously.

"A friend of mine," I answered.

"More like a friend of hers who apparently used to have a crush on her and obviously still does," muttered Laurel under her breath.

Adam looked rather jealous, "Okay, babe, you and I are going out tonight," he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the apartment, "just as long as I keep you away from that Torrey dude," I swore I heard him mumble incoherently.

"I heard that, you know," I remarked, causing Adam to smirk proudly.

"I meant for you to hear that, babe," he growled playfully, slapping my butt before letting me get changed. Half an hour later, I emerged from my bedroom in a white ruffled blouse and black tights that were studded at the ankle. It was just a simple outfit, but it was enough to earn whistles from Adam.

"Have fun, you two," Laurel called as she stepped out of the door, "oh and Adam, make sure you use protection!" Oh my God. There was something up with her today, thinking that Adam and I are sleeping with each other.

"Shut up, Laurel!" I screamed, embarrassed, especially after I felt Adam shift on the couch.

After Laurel left, I was just about to ask Adam where he had in mind for dinner when he'd just gotten off the phone and told me, "Babe, I made reservations at Ruth's Chris Steak House; that okay with you?"

"How did you know that it's my favorite steak place except that I never get to go there because I can't afford it?" I giggled.

"Because I happen to know my girlfriend that well, Lilly Pad," replied Adam casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"Shouldn't you?" I pointed out with a smirk, slipping on a pair of heeled ankle boots and picking up my black blazer, heading towards the door. Adam followed behind and I could feel his stare on my butt; somehow that didn't surprise me at all.

"I should. If I didn't, I'd be a terrible date," joked Adam. I laughed and kissed him on the cheek, taking his hand in mine as we headed down to parking lot.

* * *

><p><span>Adam's POV<span>

It had only been a little less than two weeks or so since I saw Lilly, but God, she looked amazing. It wasn't just the way her cute little butt looked in those tights, by the way. It was more of the fact that she looked much happier and more confident than the Lilly I first met back at Backlash.

I recalled that night when I first locked eyes with her by ringside, she looked rather shy and I could distinctly hear her denying the fact that I was looking at her, not the blonde chick ogling over me three rows behind Lilly. It wasn't just the sign that Lilly held up or the clothes she wore that made her stand out from all the fan girls in the arena. I remembered when Cena tossed me over the barrier and I happened to fall right next to her, when she asked me if I was okay instead of squealing happily over the fact that a WWE Superstar had fallen next to her. It was from that I knew this girl had piqued my interest.

I swore fate had brought us together when I spotted her later that evening at the club, sitting by the bar with her friend Laurel, and the moment Lilly's eyes locked with mine, not only did I feel jolts of electricity throughout my body, but I could see how afraid she looked, how shy and reserved she was, through those beautiful green eyes.

My chest would ache whenever she denied I was looking at her, whenever she turned around to see if I was checking out some other chicks behind her, whenever she didn't believe she was the apple of my eye. Even after I ordered a drink she was still doubtful. But that was the Lilly I knew before our fateful meeting in Toronto. I couldn't have been more thankful for karma when she forgave me for that stupid thing I did and decided to be my newest friend. It was perfect timing; after all, I am the ultimate opportunist.

During our time in Toronto she'd blossomed. She wasn't as reserved as when I met her in that club. With each day that passed, she became preppy, cute, bubbly, and flirty, and by the next morning after our mind-blowing date, she was just irresistible. Not that I'm saying I like the sexy, flirty Lilly more than I like the other side of her, but the way she opened herself up really brought out that sun-kissed glow on her fair skin. Since we officially became a couple, she had changed a lot, and I definitely liked it. Besides, it broke my heart whenever she criticized whatever imperfection about herself, because in my eyes, she was perfect.

What occurred to my mind, however, were the dirt sheet reports that had been popping up all over the Internet, picking up on my romance with Lilly. The comments people made about Lilly irritated me, particularly those accusing her of being nothing but a ring rat seeking attention by sleeping with me. Those fucking trolls. They know nothing about my personal life and have no right to call my girlfriend a (in my good friend Chris Jericho's words) "filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom-feeding trash bag ho". I knew Lilly better than those so-called Internet fans, and I knew she was far from a ring rat. I know a ring rat when I see one, anyway.

As Lilly and I discussed what to eat, I thought about how much I liked Lilly and how I'd never felt this way about any woman before. It was true; Lilly just captivated me, and her newfound confidence only made my attraction towards her stronger. Watching her scrutinizing the menu carefully, I will admit that I wasn't super hungry for steaks, but rather something else that looked so ravishing.

_No_, I thought, clenching my fist, controlling the urges that had scared Lilly away when I brought her up to my hotel room that night after _Backlash_. _Take it slow; Lilly's not the quickie type. She's not looking for a hit and run relationship, unlike some of the bitches I've stupidly slept around with after my breakup with Amy. She's real and I'm not going to lose her by going all playboy on her. _

Speaking of losing Lilly, what would happen to us once I go on the road? What if I accidentally screw around behind her back and the dirt sheets get a hold of it? What if…

"Adam?" Lilly's soft voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah, babe?"

"We ready to order?" she giggled, "I'm craving some sides of onion rings, french fries, and mashed potatoes, and let's say we share a porterhouse medium rare and an apple crumble for desert. What do you think?"

_This girl can eat,_ I thought, amused. "That sounds perfect," I replied.

Later that evening, Lilly talked about her plans to look for a job in urban design within Canada, her hometown of Toronto being her top choice in location. As I listened on, however, all I could think of was how Lilly and I would stay in touch if she chose to work in Canada, for the WWE only visited Canada a couple times per year.

"Hey Lilly?" I inadvertently interrupted her as she was talking about the possibility of looking for a job in media advertising instead.

"Hmmm?"

"I've been thinking a lot about our relationship and how close we've become so quickly," I began, "and since we won't be able to see each other a lot, I was wondering if you'd like to go on the road with me for the summer."

Lilly blinked twice, absolutely shocked at what she'd been proposed. "The _road_?" she stammered, "you mean…you want to bring me along with the WWE?"

"Of course I do, babe, I would love nothing more than to have you by my side, just for the summer since I know they're not going to let me bring my non-WWE employed girlfriend with me the entire time," I began to stutter, nervous that she would refuse.

"You're really asking me to go on the road with you?" she asked, looking at me as though I were crazy.

"I really am, Lilly Pad," I confirmed once again, reaching across the table to take her hand in mine, kissing the back of her fingers. At that moment she looked as though she was going to explode right off of her chair.

"Are you sure you want to, Adam? Am I actually allowed to go? Are you sure your boss won't mind?" she asked me doubtfully. I loved that Lilly was more concerned about whether she could actually go, rather than getting overly excited on being given the opportunity to tour with the WWE temporarily.

"Lilly, I was offering you to go. If I wasn't allowed to, why would I even ask?" I laughed, squeezing her hand. Suddenly, Lilly broke eye contact with me, staring down at her plate.

"I don't know Adam," Lilly replied softly, breaking her gaze from mine, "I don't know if I want to be on the road with you." Gently she let go of our interlocked hands, retreating them back to her lap.

My face fell, my heart sank with disappointment; this was not the answer I had expected.


End file.
